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Saturday, January 14, 2006

The Camera Dilemma

In my own rear view mirror
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

My beloved camera has gone missing. I am quite heart broken over this. I no longer have my Olympus Stylus 400. I loved that camera. It is the fifth digital camera that I owned. It was the best one by far. If took okay pictures, but it fitted my needs perfectly. I am very sad about it going AWOL.

Now I need to figure out what I am going to do. I love taking pictures. I cannot just stop because my camera is gone. I think that photography is a good thing in my life. It is a hobby that gets me to pay attention to the world around me. I do not want to just give that up. I need to go through the pros and cons of each action from here.

Use my back up cameras until I save enough money for a digital SLR

Pro
-I already have two back up cameras
-fastest way to get a digital SLR
-no money out of pocket already

Con
-neither of my backup cameras are compact (Olympus D-550 & Olympus C-740). I will miss a lot of shots because I will have the cameras on me less
-the Olympus D-550 needs new batteries every other day (not kidding)
-still need to get a compact camera sometime

Buy a cheap point and shoot

Pro
-less money out of pocket
-faster way to a digital SLR
-can find something small enough to take everywhere

Con
-will not have all the features I am looking for. I want a compact camera that takes good low light photos.
-will not have the same picture quality I had before
-step backwards from my last camera

Buy the best compact camera I can find

Pro
-get all the features I want
-will be a step forward from my Olympus Stylus 400

Con
-longest route to a digital SLR
-paying the most out of pocket
-might not need to spend all this money

Are there any options, pros or cons that I am missing?

Labels: camera, flickrpost, list, Olympus, pro-con

- Rich, 7:12 PM |

Friday, January 13, 2006

Sunday Write-in: Mac Users

Sunday Write-in: Mac Users
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

For a while we were a table of just Mac Users. I have said that I know a lot of Mac Users here. Being the Bay Area distorts my mental map. If I went with my friends, I would think half of all home computers were Macs. My guess is that many of my mental maps are distorted by living here.

I told the people in this picture that I would get a lot of views on flickr because it was people sitting with macs in this pictures. That tuned out to be true. After only four days it has over 100 views.

Most of my pictures have between 5-25 views after three days. I will admit that views are the currency of Flickr to me. I want my photos to get as many views as they can. I always want more views for my photos. I am not sure who pictures with Macs are so popular. I guess the cult of mac is really that popular. I should keep on taking these photos so I get more views.

Labels: apple, Bay Area, Elkit, flickr, flickrpost, Marco Polo, Silicon Valley

- Rich, 8:06 AM |

Best of 2004

That is right, this is my best of 2004 listing. I noticed that I never put my best of 2004 mixes up on the web last year. I just wanted to do this while I worked on my best of 2005 mix. I hope you enjoy these year old best of mix. Thanks

Chemical No 4 (and other Ingredients of life) Best of 2004

1. Somebody Told Me – The Killers
2. The Good Times Are Killing Me – Modest Mouse
3. The Rat – The Walkmen
4. C’mere – Interpol
5. Company In My Back – Wilco
6. Miracle Drug – A.C. Newman
7. Wonderful – Beta Band
8. Autumn’s Child – Devendra Banhart
9. German Test Drive - Spymob
10. Blinded By The Lights – The Streets
11. Barfly Blues – The Hold Steady
12. Cassiopia – Joanna Newsome
13. Yr Million Sweetnesses – Diane Cluck
14. Dear Landlord – Mirah with the Black Cat Orchestra
15. Terrible Angels - CocoRosie
16. Against All Odds – The Postal Service
17. Mad World – Gary Jules
18. Where Is The Line - Bjork
19. High Speed Train – R.E.M.
20. Another Day - AIR
21. Range Life (L.A.’s Desert Origins) – Pavement

I did not expect to hear that - New To Me 2004

1. Ink & Needles – Diane Cluck
2. So Much Water – M. Ward
3. Let A Good Thing Go – Gemma Hayes
4. Mass Romantic – The New Pornographers
5. Please – Apples In Stereo
6. Venus Stop The Train - Wilco
7. 405 – Death Cab For Cutie
8. Central Reservation – Beth Orton
9. Denver – The Beauty Shop
10. Already Dead – Beck
11. Symbolistic White Walls – Matthew Good Band
12. Slob - Weezer
13. I Wouldn’t Go Out With Me Either - Viewfinder
14. Love Athena – Olivia Tremor Control
15. Just Like Henry – Dressy Bessy
16. Brainwashed – George Harrison
17. Happiness – Whistler
18. The Aristocratic Swells – Beulah
19. Battlefield Nurse – Diane Cluck

Labels: 2004, Best of, best of 2004, best of CD Challange, cd, mixcd, music, tag overload

- Rich, 12:02 AM |

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Battlestar Drama

I just got done watching the Premiere of the 3rd season of Battlestar Galactica. I was just floored at how good it was. It was the second half of a cliffhanger from the end of last season. The show was not full of action, but it was amazingly written. By the end of the show my jaw was just hanging open. I could not believe the kind of risks this show is willing to take.

I think that Battlestar Galactica is the best written show on television. It is the best written science fiction show in at least 20 years. I think the writers understand how to use conflict. It is not just the Cylons that provide conflict. There is conflict just trying to survive. Many times we are own worst enemies.

I wonder if there are science fiction fans that do not like this show. I wonder if you have a different idea of what science fiction should be. I wonder if they want this show to be more like Star Trek or Star Gate. I watch the new Battlestar Galactica and it seems much more adult then those shows. I think that a lot of science fiction shows get too caught up in the mythology that the show creates. I think that became the downfall of Star Trek. I wonder if I am the only person who thinks this.

I think that anyone who likes drama on television should watch Battlestar Galactica. I do not think it matters if you like Sci-Fi or not. This show is worth your time. I think this show is just great drama. It is worth anyone's time. Of course this is coming from someone a couple TiVo DVRs.

Labels: Battlestar Galatica, Sci-Fi, star trek, stargate, television

- Rich, 7:55 PM |

Sweeps Week Idea

A friend of mine suggested that I kick off Blog Sweeps Week with a redesign of Sad Salvation. That is a good idea. The problem is that I really do not know enough about HTML or graphic design to do a good job. I got this design by paying a friend a few years ago. I do not have the cash to do that now. At that time I was lucking because I was on vacation when I paid him and I just took the money out of my vacation budget.

I do not have the skills or the money to get Sad Salvation redesigned. That means that I would have to depend on the kindness of others to get my web site redesigned. I really do not seeing this happening in the next couple of weeks. I guess I will have to just keep the design that I have right now.

Labels: blog, design, sadsalvation, sweeps week

- Rich, 5:00 PM |

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Link Farm

I have been connecting up links over the last couple of days. I wish I had something to write about them, but I cannot come up with anything smart. Here are the links.

IKEA: The Swedish Feeding Trough

Is Google DRM crippling culture as great as it seems?

The Chronicles of Narnia Rap - It won't save Saturday Night Live, but it could save hip hop.

The IKEA link I got from Angela.

Labels: DRM, google, Ikea, link, Narnia, Saturday Night Live

- Rich, 5:37 PM |

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

100 Favorite Things Photo Project

January 7: San Jose Night
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

A long time ago Jeremy came up with the idea of the 100 favorite things list. He encouraged everyone he knew to make a list. The first year he even put out a zine with counting up all the entries. It was cool to see what different people put on their lists.


One of the ideas was to make a new list from time to time. Here are my 100 Favorite things lists from 2002 and 2005. It is cool to see how things change over time. I am not always going to think the same are important. New things happen and my life changes. I see the list as a snap shot. These are my 100 favorite things the moment I publish the list.

This year Cathy has decided to put a new twist on the 100 Favorite things list. She is starting a photo project with 100 favorite things list. She is asking people to make new lists this year and photograph all 100 items. She wants to see how people capture the things on their list.

I think this is a great idea. I know that this is a result everyone using flickr. It is the perfect place to organize a project like this kind of project. The people taking part in this would have been shot photos and posting them to flickr anyway. Someone might as well give us a goal.

If any of my friends are interested in this project let me know. I well tell Cathy and she will invite you. Now I have to get cracking and make a new 100 Favorite Things List.

Labels: 100 favorite things, Cathy Heard, flickr, flickrpost, list, project

- Rich, 7:45 AM |

Monday, January 09, 2006

raccoon best music of 2005

Speaking of the best music of 2005, Jeremy has posted his list of the the top ten albums of 2005. Jeremy's taste are not like most of the people I know. Jeremy has always sent me his best of 2005 mixes. I should post the track lists of the mixes if he does not.

Labels: 2005, Best of, best of 2005, music

- Rich, 8:36 PM |

eMusic Best of 2005

One of the main places I found music in 2005 was eMusic. I love eMusic because it has a lot of odd stuff. They are carving out a place as the best place for indie rock and indie pop on the internet. Lots of the songs from my best of 2005 mix will be from eMusic. I would have never listened to Spoon - Gimme Fiction if it was not for eMusic.

The writers at eMusic are posting the list of Best Albums of 2005: 10-1. It is a pretty interesting list. I think by looking at this list the other lists you can get a good idea of what you can get from eMusic.

Labels: 2005, Best of, best of 2005, eMusic, music, Spoon

- Rich, 6:19 PM |

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Blog Sweeps Week

The South Bay/Silicon Valley bloggers had decided that we should have a sweeps week. We are having Sweeps week Monday, January 30th to Sunday, February 5th. The idea is to get as many people to read your blog as possible. We are going to be just like television executives and do stupid things. Okay it might now be all that stupid, but some of it will be foolish.

I know it is kind of dumb to have sweeps week for the internet. The wonderful about the internet is that you can get real time stats about readership. Advertisers know right away if people are clicking through. There is no reasson to pull out all the stops for a short period of time. With the internet you have to be at your best all the time.

We are still doing it. I would like to invite everyone with a blog to take part in Blog Sweeps week. It will be cool if we can get as many people to take part as possible. My dream would be for this to become an internet wide thing. I can only dream.

Is the weeks leading up to Blog Sweeps Week I will announce some of the things that I plan on doing. I want to build up the hype so people really look forward to that week. I plan on pulling some tricks out of my hat for blogger sweeps week. I am not sure any of them will get me more readers, but I think they will be fun to write and read.

This is your chance to tell me what you want to see. What should I include as part of Blog Sweeps Week? What do you want to see me write about? What kind of things do you think would be cool on Sad Salvation? Let me know what you, the Sad Salvation readers, think.

- Rich, 6:39 PM |

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