How not to be seen | Plexus

i want this to take over the world.

biggest stumbling block is initial work investment to set things up, so i don’t see the non-geeky public joining in. I suppose that’s why facebook works with all its handholding (aka essentially hidden and/or obfuscated preferences), though everything has its learning curve and plexus is far from a completed solution.

with luck, being open, decentralised and distributed it could be used in its initial purpose by power users and also become the wiring under the board for everybody else.

taking a step back, the solution doesn’t have to be this, nor any of the current SOAP, RPC, etc technologies, I’m just really keen to see something, some _one_ thing, tie all our ways of interpersonal communication together.

i remember being totally and frustratingly confused by the mozillamessaging website, pre-thunderbird 3.0 days, when it was talking along the lines of ‘join us to re-imagine what email can be’. I honestly thought it was going to be some sort of zero-to-infinity answer tying together status, tweets, notifications, alerts and emails and anything else along the very broad continuum of text interactions.

and because just about anything can be alerted with or converted to text we could abstract the layers further and at some point stop calling it email traffic. we then have a single pipeline and the opportunity to change how traffic is transported for performance or any other benefits (perhaps something secure, anonymous, authenticated, whatever your own point of view, i’d really like to start with getting rid of SPAM!).

reading about plexus has reminded me about the confusion reading about thinderbird3.0 and the hazy ‘future-maybe’ i was imagining.

Here’s a piece I’ve cross-posted to the PhotoGeek.TV website. I’m closing off discussions on my blog so go over there to comment. Cheers

There was a bit of internet uproar (aka bloggers being bloggers) about a stolen/copyright-infringed Obama portrait from the campaign that was turned into a poster that was then widely printed and sold around the time of his inauguration. It all settled as the news spread that all the posters and financial gains were made by enterprising poster printers and street sellers cashing in on Obama-mania around the Inauguration, not the artist. The matter was pretty well left at that.

Having not heard of him or his work before the Obama thing, I wasn’t ever expecting to hear of him again. Except now it seems Shepard Fairey does this ‘appropriating other people’s work’ caper regularly. Now fresh news of an image of young Chinese soldiers turned into a similarly styled poster by Ed Nachtrieb who says, ‘Shepard Fairey ripped off my picture first’.

This time around, the issue has been percolating and I’m trying to work out exactly where I stand on art appropriation in the modern day and what conventions or courtesies should be afforded to the originating artist. It’s certainly not a new issue, even Picasso said, “Bad artists copy, good artist steal.” Without appropriation, whole artistic movements would have been restricted to just one guy.

I keep coming back to the question, “Are photographers more prissy about their work than other artist?” or perhaps, “WHY are photographers more prissy about their work than other artists?” I’ll keep the religious debate over ‘real photography’ meaning film and vintage equipment for another post, except to say that the only ones fighting that one are snooty amateurs. This is an issue of copyrights and use of an image.

I see the issue of music samples, famously brought to court by the music industry suing rap and hiphop artists in the last decades, as analogous to what photographers have been doing since near the inception of the form. Somehow, it’s fine to photograph a dead bird on the edge of a fountain with sorrowful cherub statues looking down, but in the case of Fairey, taking an image, selectively cropping, squashing and posterizing in creation of a new piece, isn’t.

There is no right of recourse against a photographer including the sculptor’s artistic expression in the new work but translating an element of a photograph into a graphic image is disallowed. Declared replicas of famous paintings (and I’m not talking about devious forgeries) are frowned upon, presumably to protect the artistic expression of the originating artist but this sanctity isn’t afforded to the photographer’s victim while it is applied to the photograph taken. It all seems a little uneven.

I’m not particularly bothered by Shepard Fairey’s pieces, I think they can be protected as true art, fair use, and even political statements. On the other hand, I wouldn’t appreciate any of my images on Flickr taken, processed and printed on t-shirts in or near their entirety. I’d worry less if it were not the entire image, or if I were notified of the intent or show the result before publication. Is it time for copyright terms on photographs to be reviewed in a post-Photoshop world? Is attribution, without prior notification, enough?

Am I just being prissy too?

More:

• Wikipedia – Art Appropriation
• Wikipedia – Fair Use
• Wikipedia – Shepard Fairey

I organised a group order of 5 Hakko 936 soldering stations last year from Mektronics. I finally managed to unpack mine yesterday (4months later) and actually use it. Just a simple replacement of two telephone handset cords but very satisfying.
Today I replaced a 3.5mm phono plug for the PA system at work. While using the iron today, I was interrupted a couple of times and walked away from the office. In the back of my mind I had a crazy idea that the soldering iron would start a fire. Probably a hangover from never owning a heavy station or stand before and always worrying about the soldering iron falling off my desk or onto paperwork.
While packing the iron back in its box to take home this evening I stumbled across another bonus feature. One of those ‘that building wasn’t there yesterday’ moments. It has a power switch… which I had to turn on when I first plugged the iron in yesterday, but after the fear of fire moment I had earlier, seems like something I should pay particular notice of and stamp into my brain to include in the ‘now I’m leaving the room’ checklist.
Gotta say I’m really enjoying the feel of a quality soldering iron in my hand. I’ve used this model before and pleased to own one.

NYTimes.com – All Boarded Up
Rather lengthy article about the mortgage & foreclosure situation in Cleveland, where “The city estimates that 10,000 houses, or 1 in 13, are vacant.”
Well written and interesting articles like this make me want to read the newspaper more frequently and more thoroughly, though the quality of our local papers leaves a lot to be desired. Thank God for the Internet.
I’ve been looking around at eBook readers recently and praying we see something like Amazon’s Kindle released here soon. Its Internet connectivity via an internal mobile phone network data modem and the subscription service to newspapers and magazines are very inviting, though lack of an Australian Amazon.com.au outlet don’t have me holding my breath.
Having spent a decade loyal to Dymocks, the past 2-3 years I’ve almost solely shopped at Borders for their massive and varied stock and perhaps more because of their longer opening hours and my lifestyle.
Dymocks has popped up on the radar again recently with news of on demand printing, promotion of audio books via Audible and eBook offerings, as well as eBook readers. Unfortunately these most geeky devices are still very expensive and Dymocks’ electronic sci-fi/fantasy offerings are, to be kind, thin.
The future is almost here. Just need to watch how the antediluvian book publishing industry deals with their customers’ demand for alternate formats against the existing insular structure of publishing rights and firm borders between markets.
Oh how I wish to read smart things from smart people and be excited to pay for their work. Currently, $1.10 for the daily paper feels like a losing bet every time.

Lowepro Slingshot 100

I have purchased 2 Lowepro bags, both were the single strap, across the chest ’sling bag’ style known as the Slingshot 100 and the Slingshot 200. The only difference between them was their size and I sold the smaller  when I found it too small to hold more than 2 off camera lenses. Also, it sat high on my shoulders and was somewhat constricting due to its size (and mine).

Lowepro Slingshot 200

The Slingshot 200 is better but I find I rarely carry the bag on my back. More often I’ll walk less than 100m from my car so I usually leave it behind. Even so, I like the styling that doesn’t scream camera bag here!

The key differentiating feature of these bags is the ’side entry’. As it is a sling bag you can slide the bag around your body while still carrying it and the side zips expose the camera and other lenses just under chest height. There’s also a more traditional two-strap Fastpack backpack range that offers this.

The Flipside range is unique in that access to the camera compartment is only available from the ‘back’ of the bag. You must take off the backpack and lay it on a surface to open the zippered flap that is usually against your back. It has a hardwearing fabric and construction, a tripod holder and is promoted as a secure traveler’s bag because of the unusual camera access.

I was particularly keen on the Micro Trekker 100 as a second bag for carrying just a camera and lens or two, rather than everything but the kitchen sink, as I usually do. The main disadvantage is that it lacks the inbuilt raincover which would have made it a very attractive hiking/camping/daytrip backpack for it’s small size and light weight.

Lowepro Micro Trekker 100

Lowepro Mini Trekker AW

Instead, the Mini Trekker AW is a larger size and the ‘AW’ denotes the All Weather cover. It is actually a great size for a keen amateur with a lot of space for lenses and accessories, as well as a tripod holder and enough room for a wallet, bottle of water and other useful small items while walking around taking photos. I’ve used this bag briefly and like it very much. If I were to buy a primary bag again, I’d be looking very seriously at this bag.

Other than that, Lowepro has a large selection of more traditional shoulder bags and some bags and backpacks that have space for a laptop too.

I’ve focused mainly on Lowepro because they have the wider range and a build quality I trust. Other manufacturers like Kata, Crumpler and Tamrac have a couple of interesting options but nothing stands out like these Lowpro bags I mention above. I was very impressed by the Crumpler laptop bag I used for my 12″ iBook G4 but since then they seem to have moved to a softer 300 or 600D Ripstop Nylon and their bags generally seem more soft and floppy, which is not what I’m after when I have odd shaped equipment to carry as the only way to give the bag rigidity (which adds to my comfort in carrying it) is to more tightly pack the contents. Something I do not want to do.

Why not a shoulder bag? Simply because I don’t trust they’ll stay on my shoulder and I never shoot in locations where I’m comfortable to leave them on the ground. I personally know of three photographers who’s shoulder bags have slid off and hit the ground, damaging a lens, a filter and a lenshood and one landing in a puddle.

I have recently entertained the idea of a small shoulder bag as a secondary day-trip bag, with just a couple of lenses and a cleaning cloth but I’m more interested in finding a beltpack with a handle so I can either walk around with it secured to my body or carry it in hand.

Finally, I’m impressed with the number of user reviews with bags packed full of camera gear at CamBags.com as it helps to have a visual idea of what will fit. Also, Digital Camera Warehouse has a huge selection of Lowepro bags on display and I’m please with their service.

I bought some used CF cards a while ago and never used them until the day it snowed (unusual for my area). I had left all my camera gear in the car the night before and just pulled the CF card out to grab the photos via a USB card reader, as my hands were too full to carry the camera bag in.

So, seeing snow, walking past the car and pulling a camera out without a CF card inserted meant I went to the backup CF card… this screwed up my file numbering.

From _MG_3111.CR2 I jumped to _MG_7589.CR2. Not thrilled but not life-and-death, just quite annoyed. I searched around and read a lot of forums saying it really can’t be done but I was determined to ‘fix’ it and get back to a number more indicative of my actually shot count.

WHY?

I like having a shot counter, even if not exact, as a handy guide to make rough calculation of how many “keepers” I’m taking, as a percentage. It makes me feel better about my photography hobby by reinforcing that I am learning something even on those days where I’ve struggled. I have a good idea about how many photos I’m taking in a session and what my storage card requirements are for my typical photo outings.

I’ve learned the tricks to the file numbering system. I have succeeded in getting my file numbering back to where I want it.

RTFM. The answers do exist in the manual.

The manual explains the Continuous, Auto-Reset and Manual Reset options. The key behaviours to keep in the back of your mind are:

• Continuous will keep the numbering going even when you insert a different card. If the new card has files with a higher number, the camera may continue from that higher number. (I don’t know in which situations this doesn’t happen, so ‘may’ could mean ‘almost always will’).
• Auto-Reset will reset numbering every time a card is inserted. Importantly, it resets the folder numbering too. This is the silver bullet!
• Manual Reset will create a new, sequentially numbered folder and re-start the file numbering. This can be ueful down the track if it happens again.

Quick notes:

• “IMG_” prefix on files indicates sRGB colour space, “_MG_” indicates Adobe RGB
• “.CR2″ is Canon’s newer RAW filetype. Previously “CRW”.
• Numbering is continuous across file types. If you change from JPG to RAW and back the numbers continue incrementing. The camera does not keep different counters for each file format.
• The last ‘correct’ numbered file I had was _MG_3111.CR2 which I duplicated as _MG_3211.CR2 to make space for the almost 100 photos I took in the ‘7000 range’ until I reset the numbering. I’ve now returned to those photos and renumbered them.

How to revert to your old numbering scheme:

1. Mount the CF card on the computer and decide what folder number (100CANON, 101CANON, etc) and what file number you want to get back to. Make sure you have saved all the photos you want to keep.
2. Turn camera to Auto-Reset.
3. Insert CF card. This will bring you back to 100-0100.
4. Format CF card. This will clear any spurious folders causing trouble later on.
5. For each folder number increment, select ‘Manual Reset’ from the menus. (If you’re happy with 100CANON, skip this).
6. Copy the highest number image BACK to the CF card. If it’s a JPG you can do it via the camera software, otherwise put it back in the USB reader. (I dropped _MG_3211.CR2 into 100CANON)
7. Set camera to Continuous numbering mode.
8. Reinsert CF card if removed.

To check the process worked take a new photo and review it on the LCD. Press ‘Display’ if the numbering isn’t shown. “100-3212″ equates to /100CANON/_MG_3212.CR2 for a RAW photo in Adobe RGB colour space.

QNAP Systems, Inc. (TS-409 Turbo NAS)

More importantly (though others may disagree) than the 3-year anniversary with my girlfriend is the present she bought me. OMFG!

I’ve frustrated and annoyed her to tears on more than one occasion by guessing her presents as much as a few weeks before the event but this time I was totally blown away.

After tearing back just the corner of the wrapping paper I saw a “409” written on the box and cannot describe the shock or elation. The story leading upto the present was quickly retold and as it unfolded I found that it began with weeks of snooping conversations and undercover work, including drafting my sister into the spy games, and ended with her searching my mobile phone to get the number for a wholesaler… she’s “berry berry sneeeky!“

I’ve spent a few weeks using Minefield rather than Firefox 3 and I think I noticed the difference but I like being on the bleeding edge and I don’t know if Minefield is being updated as quickly as Firefox.
Minefield was the development codename for Firefox 3 and Neil Bruce Lee is producing custom compilations for some Apple computers under the Minefield moniker.
Anyway, Minefield seems a little snappier, but I don’t know if I’m actually seeing something that isn’t there. I’ve certainly had a better experience with flash video in the browser than Flock’s high cpu loading and hot laptop, but I’m going to spend some time in ‘Firefox proper’ and see if I notice a slowdown, or even an increase in battery consumption, though I doubt it.

LegalTorrents.com
Not much there really but well done to them for putting it together and advertising the service.
They should dedicate a section to Linux distros and I hope they find some advertising money or pro bono love from complementary sites like Creative Commons and leading freedom fighters.
*pause*
Just had to take a minute and send them a feature request. It’s too easy to talk without taking action.

Google Maps .com.au
Google Maps now also generates directions for walking, not just driving. Strangely, it gives quite different directions even outside of urban areas.
I know for certain there aren’t any footpaths for 99% of the roads within 25minutes drive in any direction of my home.
Some streets, particularly around schools, have some well beaten paths through the roadside grass and compacted earth, so I’ll assume the Google people are smart and give walking directions with the shortest path and terrain factors weighing heavily on the calculation.
Good on ‘em!