Month: January 2008

Regarding My Email Habits

Me: i like having zero messages in my inbox… iphone doesn’t allow for that… always has 25, 50, or more. even if you delete it just loads more.
Russ: 0 in your inbox?
Russ: how can you have no mesages in your inbox?
Me: i always keep my inbox at zero
Russ: yeah i know you do
Russ: but it’s not healthy when these things don’t even physically exist
Russ: you’ve created some new form of anal retentive disorder

My Cameras

I own six cameras:

1. Canon PowerShot SD800 IS (link)
2. Casio Exilim
3. Sony MiniDV Handycam
4. iPhone (link)
5. Diana+ (link)
6. Macbook Pro iSight (link)

I just got the iPhone and Diana+ this Christmas and have limited experience with both.

The Diana+ uses medium format 120 film. I’ve only shot in color. You can see my first three rolls here. Having to wait for the local camera shop to develop my film highlights how convenient immediate feedback on digital cameras is. And how impatient I am.

The iPhone seems to take great pictures (for a “phone”). There is no flash, so it is a poor substitute for my Canon PowerShot during nighttime outings. Otherwise I’m thrilled with it.

The Canon PowerShot has given me what I expected – portability and above average pictures. The lack of shutter control is frustrating, but otherwise a good compact camera. I also love the video capabilities and recently upgraded to a 4GB SD memory card that allows 33 minutes of video.

The Casio Exilim was my main camera before the Canon PowerShot. It has 4.1 mega-pixels and takes good pictures, but is slow to shoot.

I rarely use the Sony Handycam. I will make a point of shooting more higher quality video with it this year, although it is not HD. That leaves me somewhere in between the Canon video quality and HD.

The MacBook Pro iSight is used almost exclusively for goofy shots and video chatting.

Preparing for My iPhone

I ordered an iPhone and it should arrive on Friday. I’ve been working feverishly (relatively speaking – it is holiday break) to prepare my sync-able data for the iPhone.

I beefed up my Address Book, which included downloading v-cards from LinkedIn and categorizing people in groups – high school, college, law school, Ruckus, K12, and family.

I also exported my bookmarks from FireFox, my preferred browser, trimmed them down to the most used, and imported them into Safari.

It’s not clear how the iPhone mail.app works, so I haven’t done much with my email.

What excites me most about the iPhone is the compactness of it. Not only is the device itself slim, but it will eliminate the need for me to carry a cell phone, camera, iPod, and laptop.

I’m very excited, and again, as with the Wii, horribly delinquent with my technology purchase.

Wii for Me

I got a Wii for Christmas. It has reignited my long-lost passion for video games. The only reason for this is the high level of interactivity. It is impossible to not be immersed in the game you’re playing. Even bowling is incredible.

Yes, these comments are stale – the Wii came out over one year ago. But, this is my first chance to play and, well, I’m a believer.

I own the following games:

  • Super Mario Galaxy – Fun and frustrating.
  • Tiger Woods 2008 – My current favorite, although even on the hardest setting it’s still pretty easy for me.
  • Wii Sports and Wii Play – Bowling and Tennis are a couple family favorites. A little different than sitting around a table playing cards. Nice to break a sweat.

My Year In Cities: 2007

Here is a list of the cities in which I spent one or more nights in 2007. I visited the cities marked with asterisks more than once on non-consecutive occasions.

United States

* Chicago, IL*
* Edmond, OK
* Herndon, VA
* Hilton Head Island, SC
* Ishpeming, MI*
* Lansing, MI
* Newark, NJ
* New York, NY
* Niagara Falls, NY
* Park City, UT
* Portland, ME
* Raleigh, SC
* Richmond, VA
* Traverse City, MI*

International

* Beijing, China*
* Shanghai, China
* Toronto, Ontario
* Xi’an, China