Category: Our Experiences

Tales of my life as told by me.

Online Vice: Photo Browsing

Looking at photographs online is a huge time suck for me. Once I start looking at the flickr Explore – 7 Days Interesting I’m lost for an hour or more. I could flip through the pages endlessly. I recognize that 95 percent of the pictures on there are rubbish, but every once-in-a-while I’ll find a good one worth favoriting.

Right now, I’m finding the photos on The One’s We Love similarly addicting.

The Ones We Love is a project highlighting young and talented photographers from around the world. Each artist contributed six photographs of the person(s) who is most important to them, taken outdoors in a natural setting. The goal of the website is to portray the people who are loved, cherished, and inspirational to these artists, and also showcase the differences and similarities in the photographs each of them took within the same guidelines.

29 January, 2008
Legal Capacity to Make a Will

“Legal capacity to make a will requires a greater mental competency than is required for marriage.”

~ WT&E Textbook

23 January, 2008
Blogging vs. Personal Communication

Many times when I post to tumblr, my action is replacing a direct communication I could be making with one or more people. Often, what I’m posting (a thought, observation, link, picture, etc.) is of interest to my friends and family and could be sent directly.

Is the quality of the personal message diluted by posting the same message to my blog?

I think it is and I try to keep my personal communications unique and private – at least until they become bloggable. At that point, all hope of maintaining “place” is lost and I just want to get the conversation out into my (limited) tumblr world.

The funny thing is that I can’t really explain why. All of this is like self-induced micro-paparazzi. Intentionally placing one’s private life in front of strangers.

Very weird.

17 January, 2008
First Day Back

Two of my three classes were canceled due to heavy snowfall on my first day back from winter break.

My courses this semester are:

* Antitrust
* Federal Courts
* Criminal Procedure
* Wills, Trusts & Estates

The only class held today was Antitrust, which has to do with the regulation of anti-competitive activities in the free market. As is common, the first day was a general overview of the topic. Notes were taken, but nothing that will likely be tested.

The real learning as well as the full schedule will begin on Wednesday!

15 January, 2008
The Smithsonian Life List

The Smithsonian Lift List is below. I’ve been to the Great Wall, The Louvre, and the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is easily the most impressive natural sight I’ve ever seen. The Great Wall was impressive, but it was extremely foggy on the day I visited it. I visited The Louvre in 7th grade and 9th grade. I would have a better appreciation now.

Here is the list:

Portals into the Past
Walk the timeless streets and byways of ancient cities on three continents

– Mesa Verde
– Pompeii
– Tikal
– Petra

Feats of Engineering
The world’s surviving architectural wonders hewed from stone and mortar beckon as ever

– Pyramids of Giza
– Taj Mahal
– Easter Island
– The Great Wall

A Matter of Timing
Choosing the right year, month or even moment can make all the difference

– Aurora Borealis
– Serengeti
– Iguazu Falls
– Machu Picchu

Triumphs of Vision
Come face to face with history’s finest works of art and design

– The Louvre
– Zen Garden of Kyoto
– Uffizi Gallery
– Fallingwater

Scale New Heights
Don’t just see nature’s most spectacular sites—experience them

– Yangtze River
– Antarctica
– Mount Kilimanjaro
– Grand Canyon

In the Presence of Gods
Encounter temples so magnificent then could only have been built by divine inspiration

– Pagan
– Parthenon
– Angkor Wat
– Ephesus

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?
Visit these deteriorating or threatened destinations before they disappear

– Venice
– Amazon Rain Forest
– Great Barrier Reef
– Galápagos Islands

14 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

7 January, 2008
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.

7 January, 2008