Monthly Archives: August 2008

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Nikon’s New D90 DSLR - Is this a mini RED camera?

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900" caption="Image #1 | New Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera - from Nikon Press USA"]Image #1 | New Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera - from Nikon Press USA[/caption]

Update: A collegue sent me a link to the following Nikon D90 commercial. My recommendation is to watch it all the way through. It has encouraged me to really consider this camera as a potential addition.

August 26th, Canon press release day. Canon unveils their new DSLR called the 50D to replace the not-so-old 40D. It seems like a nice incremental upgrade, but I’m not a Canon guy, so I’m not the one to ask regarding their stuff. August 27th, Nikon press release day: Nikon D90. Wow. I have to say that the rumors were correct and video is included on this new DSLR from Nikon. So, what does this mean?

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Serene & Ben - Go Bears!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900" caption="Image #1 | Give me a "C""]Image #1 | Give me a C[/caption]

There is something about being a University of California alumni that you just never get rid of, Once a Bear, Always a Bear. Both Serene and Ben are Cal alums, and Serene is now an optometrist and Ben is a high-tech consultant… AND he was a member of the Cal band. The fact that they are alums and plus the fact that he was in the band, well, I guess that’s how we were authorized to get onto Cal’s Memorial Field up near Berkeley’s Strawberry Canyon.

When they decided to have some engagement photos taken, nothing seemed to be better than to use Memorial Field where the Cal Bears hold their home football games, and where Ben performed as a member of the Cal Band. They both loved their time there in college and are avid fans of the Cal football team. Serene, Ben, my wife Annie (who came to assist me), and I are all Cal Alums, even so, it was a bit of a challenge to get into the stadium. Those of us here in the Bay Area all know about the “tree sitters” and there was another protest going on as well. To be honest, we were lucky to get in. When we got there, there was a soccer clinic being held, and the whole field was filled with athletes. Luckily, after shooting a few frames around the stands, the clinic wrapped, and we got access to the field.

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Serene’s Bridal Shower Boarding at Gate 22…

No, it’s not the way-back machine, but I did post something about this get together a couple weeks ago. Serene is known to be a world traveler and she’s been pretty much everywhere. The girls put together a “Serene’s Travels” theme for the shower and made some signs and created some tasty food for the day. Here are some photos from Serene’s bridal shower. There were about thirty girls there along with a few toddlers. The weather was beautiful that day, and it seemed that everyone had a good time relaxing and celebrating outside. All of Serene’s bridesmaids were there, along with some of her old friends and family. Included are also a few photos of her hilarious celebrity friend Aisha Tyler, hanging with Serene and the other girls.  I thought it was ridiculous how she stood more than a half a foot higher than most of the other girls. She is TALL. Enjoy the photos!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900" caption="Image #1 | The signs point the way to the party"]Image #1 | The signs point the way to the party[/caption]

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Blackle - Web Searching to Save Some Energy

For those of you who use Google (and who doesn’t?) to find your favorite stationers, florists, and of course, photographers, I found an interesting search engine that states it actually helps to save some energy. The search engine is called, Blackle, and was started by a company called Heap Media located in Sydney, Australia. It uses the Google custom search engine and the search pages it renders are all black background with lighter text. It’s true that this may take some time to get used to, but I admit that after a short time the pages become easier to read (and I figure you can use this search engine when searching in dim lighting to prevent you from getting screen-blinded.)

OK, so one person using it probably doesn’t save all that much energy, but if we all used it, I’m sure the grand total would add up to something. The premise is that a computer screen will use less energy to represent a black background versus the standard white background, and as we all know, Google uses a white background for the search page and for the end results. So, the next time you need to do a search why not try out Blackle and see if you can save a few milliwatts. To be more green, we all need to start with some small steps.

Update: Well it appears that I may have been too excited about this small step for tech green-ness. From what I have read, using a black-colored google doesn’t really do much unless you are using a CRT type screen (and even then, it is a small improvement.) On top of that, on an LCD screen (which is all I use) it might actually use MORE energy than just using a white colored google. Oh well. Anyway, I’ll still keep my eye out for little things that we can do to be a bit more green.