Monthly Archives: February 2004

general ramblings

weird rate

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i was looking at lighting equipment and was debating whether or not i want to buy some umbrellas and flash equipment. it’s always been temping and it’s always nice to be able to get that kind of set up. i found out that the set up that i want is actually not as expensive as i had originally thought that it was. that being said…

i’m torn now because i don’t know what to buy and i don’t feel like there is enough information on the web to really make an informed decision. it’s very hard to make much sense out of it, really.

so while i was browsing the web for umbrella set up stuff, i saw that [url=http://www.adorama.com]adorama[/url] lets you rent camera equipment. so i decided to take a closer look at the pricing structure that adorama rents stuff at and i saw this. i was appalled.

the D60 costs more to rent than the 10D?? the first column is the rental cost for a day, the second for a week. man, i just don’t get it. but now it makes me think. should i make my D30 and maybe the 10D available to rent?

hmmmmm…

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general ramblings

ban on beef lifted!

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yup, that’s right. the ban on beef is officially lifted. it started last week when i went to straits cafe and had an excellent steak dish. the following day i finally indulged in a much-needed big mac meal. i know, it is a sad day in one’s life when you crave a big mac. but it’s done with and i’m happily eating beef now.

i have not yet grilled my own steak, though. that’s the next big beef bonanza. mmmmm.

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general ramblings

wish list?

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is it considered tacky to publish your own birthday wishlist?

i remember for xmas, my friend and his sister made wishlists for their parents and put various things on it of varying prices and then the parents got them whatever they wanted on that list. i always thought that was a rather efficient way of giving gifts. at least you’ll always get what you want.

part of the surprise and mystery of your birthday is seeing what people might get you. but lately, my brother and sister have been asking each other, what do you want? and we’ve been getting each other those gifts.

photographic

high iso shooting

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[url=http://www.tow.com/photogallery/20040130_iso/]adam[/url] posted the results of the comparisons of the Canon 1D vs 10D high ISO shooting in low light conditions. a few days before the comparison, adam and I were debating the performance of high ISO shooting with these two cameras. I had felt that the 1D’s high ISO performance was still better than that of the 10D, particularly at ISO 3200, but adam thought that 10D should have been a better performer.

apparently there is a lot of talk about the stellar performance of the 10D and its high ISO performance. and i would agree that its performance is particularly amazing when compared to that of the D30 or D60. the d30’s ISO800 noise is the same as that of the 10D’s ISO1600. So you do get a full stop more at the same level of noise due to the DiGiC processor on the 10D.

but i feel the noise exhibited on the 10D is more splotchy than that of the 1D, especially in low light. in bright light conditions, the noise is less noticeable.

am i disappointed? no way! this is still a whole lot better than what i was getting with my old D30. besides, the 1D is a professional camera, you’d expect it to yield professional results. any less and i’d be pretty disappointed. i’ll be the first to admit that the 10D is not a professional camera but instead of prosumer camera. and it’s true, it’s cheap. compared to the 1D, it’s half the cost!

still a great camera, though.

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rants

hypocrite

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i went to this club/lounge last night in sunnyvale. i can’t remember the name of it, but it was across the way from the forum. anyway, there was no cover for the place, but this organization was accepting donations to support the fight against cancer. sounds noble enought, right?

but the girl who explained what the cause is about and collected donations was too busy smoking outside the club to collect donations, holding up the line. then she explained to us, with smoke heavy on her breath about the cause.

she said something very articulate about fighting cancer and raising money for this organization, but all i heard was something like:

yeah, uhhh…i’m collecting money for the fight against cancer because, you know, cancer is bad. but uhhh, i’m going to smoke this cigarette, because, damn, it’s just so good. i mean, i know that smoking can cause cancer and i know that it’s bad and all, but i’m going to do it, anyway. that’s my right. and furthermore i’m going to raise money for organizations that fight cancer, because who wouldn’t want to fight cancer? it’s a bad thing, yo. i know cancer’s bad, i want money to fight that bad, but i’m going to invite the potential for that bad in my life too, because well…it’s just so damn good.

…

yes, cancer is a bad thing. yes, smoking isn’t the only cause of cancer. yes, i believe that there should be a fight against cancer. but ask me for donations for the fight against cancer when you so openly invite that risk into your life and it just seems wildly hypocritical to me. it inspires this anger from me because though you are doing a good thing, you are doing a bad thing for yourself…and it’s sad.

did it seem a little hypocritical that there was a crowd of organizers and/or their friends smoking outside? did it seems a little hypocritical that their smoke was wafting into the club forcing us to inhale their second hand smoke? all to help support an organization that fights cancer? just a little.

my aunt passed away after her fight with cancer. she did not smoke, nor did she live with anyone who did. she was a genuinely sweet woman and was one of the few adults that i grew up with who i felt i could talk to about anything. i believe that she had pancreatic cancer and in the past i’ve made donations to organziations like the american cancer society to aid in research to fight cancer. i believe in the cause. i believe that minimizing the suffering or abolishing the suffering through medical means is a worthy cause. she didn’t make a choice to put herself at higher risk than others. this just happened to her and i’m sorry that it did. i’m sorry that she had to go through so much suffering. it makes me sad and i wouldn’t want anyone to go through that.

now, maybe this makes me vengeful, but i believe that people should be responsible for their actions. if you are going to put yourself at risk, you should be prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. but don’t look to me to bail you out if you got yourself in a jam. you are your own person, you are fully capable of making your own decisions.

i didn’t make a contribution to the cause last night. it felt too much like bailing these people out. i don’t wish ill for them, i hope they all lead healthy, fruitful lives. and though i support the greater cause, i don’t support the way that these organizers were going about it.

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