The Well Balanced Geek

DefinitivePhoto.com

2010-01-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

OK,it's a done deal. I moved our website (definitivephoto.com) to a new service. We were with Netfirms.com and it was just a plain, build it yourself,web site. Now we are are a SmugMug webiste. Definitivephoto.com still works but because it is a SmugMug site it is specifically for photographers. The most notable addition is the ability to buy prints and digital downloads from the site. This is something that would have required extensive customization and programming on the Netfirms site. With SmugMug it is all built in.

I am in the process of building the "new" site. While it is up and you can go see it, it is not complete. There are some images to be removed. Some images to be replaced with higher resolution versions and lots of new images to add. The pages listing our services and prices is yet to be built. So, look for that in the future. I am adding a new service: Rides. Rides will be photographs, portraits, if you will, of cars or any vehicle really. They always say you should photograph what you love and I do love cars and stuff. So, I thought maybe people would be willing to pay to have professional photographs done of their cars. You might be thinking why would anyone pay money to have their '89 Camry photographs. Probably no one. But, if someone spends $40,000 fully restoring a 1953 Cadillac to original condition, they would love to have really high quality, artistically done photographs of it. That's my hope anyway.

Along with all of this will be a change in priority for this blog. My plan is to focus almost exclusively on photography and photography related topics. And I am also planning to create a Facebook page for Definitive Photography. All three the website, the blog and the Facebook page will tied together. I'm thinking the Facebook page will promote the website, print sales and getting new jobs. I plan to highlight the website and the blog on the Facebook page as well.

There is lots to pull together. Some of it I have planned out and some is still to be figured out. More to follow.

Photography Blog

2009-12-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

I am seriously considering creating a new and separate blog for my photography. I've been reading about other photographers and the common view seems to be that in order to have a successful photography business you need to blog as well. Likewise they encourage heavy participation in Flickr. I do have a Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewellbalancedgeek/) but have not used it much. I prefer to use Smugmug (http://deanhuber.smugmug.com/). I really like the way Smugmug presents photographs but Flickr has a much bigger following which would be a real advantage. Will have to think about that.

AOR to Singles to Ring Tones

2009-06-01T21:01:00.001-07:00

I was looking at the albums and songs that my daughter has on her iPod and I noticed she has almost no complete albums. The majority of her iPod is filled with various tracks by many artists. How different that is from when I was her age and we only could buy entire albums. Well, yes, we could buy individual tracks via 45. (anyone remember what a 45 is?) But entire albums is where it was at back then. Even on the radio. AOR, album oriented rock was the standard on the FM dial. Not so on the AM side where top 40 still reigned. But on FM all the popular stations played all the songs on an album. Not all at once, though they did that too as special events. But over the course of a day you could hear all the tracks from the new Eagles album or the new Fleetwood Mac album. So many times I remember being attacted to a certain album because of one particular song and then after listening to the whole album would come to love other tracks on that album. In some cases my favorite song from the album was not the most popular song. Had I just purchased that one song, the popular one, off of iTunes, I may never know or hear that other song that ultimately became my favorite.

Even today it is hard for me to listen to just one song from an album. To me, the entire album, from first song to last is one body of work, one unit. I can't imagine breaking it up into individual songs. Likewise, it is hard, if not impossible, for me to listen to the songs from an album out of order or in any other order than the way it was originally put on the album. Example: Frampton Comes Alive. I recently purchased a special edition of this classic album on CD. They have added more songs to the album and placed them in various places in the sequence. Thus destoying the original order of songs. Arrrggghhh! I could not listen to it that way. I had to make a playlist in iTunes that restored the original song order and eliminated the new songs. Listening to the album the hundreds of times I have over the years, it just was not right to have the songs not in the "right" order. My mind just naturally goes from one song to the next. And, on this special edition that was not the case...suddenly there was a different song following the previous song. Not right!

And now we have gone beyond individual tracks being separated out from the album whole to even complete songs being broken up into smaller pieces and used as ring tones. I can't help but wonder if bands will start to think, not in terms of albums, not in terms of songs, but in terms of small catchy sound bites, made to order for ring tones. The album, as a body of work, gone. The song crafted with a tune and thoughtful words, gone. The snappy, catchy, 24 second bit of melody, if you can have that in only 24 seconds, will be the goal.

The rantings of an old fart. Thanks for listening.

Yay GM!!

2009-01-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

GM/Cadillac recently introduced their newest electric car, the Cadillac Converj. OK, so the name isn't the best but finally some really interesting design from GM. They used some of the design cues from the Cadillac Cien (a very good choice, see previous post :Detroit, Part 1). One can only hope the actual production vehicle will maintain the current desgin.

An RX-7 by any other name

2009-01-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Dodge unveiled their first electric car: the Dodeg Circuit EV.
They say:
"Dodge Circuit EV: Brand new version of all-electric sports car boasts unique, fearless Dodge design"
"The Dodge Circuit EV displays bold exterior and interior styling.."
"The Dodge Circuit EV's profile demonstrates perfect proportions for balanced handling, placing the driver and passenger midway along the wheelbase. At the front of the vehicle, the distinctive Dodge crosshair grille splits the wind, sending it over the long, low hood and cleanly over the windshield and cockpit. The body sides feature a deep scallop, providing visual depth and also a functional rear-brake air duct. At the rear, the functional elements blend with design to create a uniform finish."
I say: Quack. It's a copy of the previous model of the Mazda RX-7. Nothing new here. OK, it's a little different but not much. Come on Detroit, you can do much better.

Detroit; Part 2

2008-11-28T16:32:00.001-08:00

What's Up With This Retro Thing?

In my opinion it started with the Plymouth Prowler in 1997

Then the Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2000.

Then Ford came along with the new (old?) styled Thunderbird in 2002.

Then Ford did the same with the Mustang; pulling the '69/'70 style back into production in 2005.

Mean while GM was hot on the same path with the t he Chevrolet SSR in 2003

The Chevrolet HHR in 2006

Then Chrylser came back with the Dodge Charger also in 2006.

and the Dodge Challenger earlier this year

And now I here Chevy wants to resurrect the '69 Camaro for the 2010 production year.

Clearly there is something going on here. I think Chrysler was very creative in developing the Prowler and PT Cruiser as both were not attempts to bring back an earlier model but brand new designs. While they did mimic "hot rod" styles they were fresh enough to be very exciting. The Ford Thunderbird was OK, but not great. I can't help but wonder if the Ford designers could not come up with any "new" ideas so, trying to jump on the retro bandwagon started by Chrysler, resurrected the original Thunderbird design. It's an OK re-interpretation, but the sales were never that great indicating buyers didn't feel it was fresh enough. I think the problem was that it just looked too much like the original. If only they had taken the original design as a starting point and done something more modern with it. Take the Prowler for example. Chrysler didn't just duplicate a '32 Ford roadster. They made is much more modern yet you know what they were thinking of, what their inspiration was.

Then the 2005 Ford Mustang. Horrible. They made very little attempt to modernize the design. It is almost a carbon copy of the original '69-'70 Mustang. I will give them credit, they did pick, in my opinion, the best looking Mustang of all time to duplicate. But even that does little to ease the fact that it looks very much like Ford, like with the Thunderbird, could not come up with a fresh design so slid back into reusing a previous, successful design. Shame on you Ford.

Chevrolet started out on the right track with the SSR and the HHR. Both are not replicas of previous models but attempts to modernize a previous style. Unfortunately both are not that exciting as sales figure prove and buyers were just not that interested.

Chrysler then jumped on the bandwagon of just bringing back a previous model with a little modernization. The "new" Charger and Challenger were the result. The Charger has sold well indicating they go something right with buyers. The new Challenger is barely out there so it is hard to say how the public is receiving it.

Lastly, the Camaro from Chevrolet. Again, like Ford with the Mustang, GM at least picked, again, in my opinioin, the best looking year of Camaro to bring back. The new Camaro will not be available until the 2010 model year.

I can't help but think Detroit is just not able to come up with fresh, exciting designs to entice buyers so they dredge up previous designs that were successful in hopes that that alone will draw buyers into the showrooms with checkbook in hand. It is a desperate attempt on the part of the Big Three to stay alive in a dwindling economy where they can not seem to get any buyers coming there way. Will it work? I think it will somewhat. Babyboomers who could not afford an original Camaro back in '69 may jump at the chance to own one in 2010. Same goes for the Dodge Challenger. Born of the same stock as the Camaro, Babyboomers may buy them up.

While this may be enough to keep Detroit alive a while, I don't think there is any replacement for good, quality design. And that is something the Big Three desperately need to get back to if they want to survive long term. However, if they brought back the 1967 Impala.....oh...oh....best of all the 1958 Belair. Ahh. Now that was design. Well, at least for Detroit. Don't get me going on the rest of the world. I hope to do a blog on Mercedes Benz design next. There is the model to follow.

Nikon D3X "Sliped" out pics

2008-11-26T14:19:00.001-08:00

The pictures only lasted a few minutes on the Nikon USA site. Nikon Rumors site was able to snag them and post them at http://nikonrumors.com/2008/11/26/breaking-news-its-here.aspx.

There have been hints for weeks that the D3X was close to being released. Nikon does have a official event scheduled for December 1st. Odds are that is when the D3X will be officially announced. Everyone seems to agree it will sport 24.4 MP sensor.

NEW BUILDING 9

2008-10-02T14:03:00.001-07:00

The entire site appears to be wrapped up for long term storage. Rumor has it they lost major funding and the project has been put on indefinite hold.

Fog Rolls In

2008-09-26T12:35:00.001-07:00

NEW BUILDING 8

2008-09-25T10:34:00.001-07:00

After months of very little action, construction has resumed on the building site.

2008-09-10T13:20:00.001-07:00

Dean

2008-09-10T13:13:00.001-07:00

Testing sending to Blogger from my new cell phone.
Dean

Detroit; Part 1

2008-08-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

How can they do that!
I just don't understand how a car company can come up with this stellar idea for a car, build it, show it and then do nothing with it. The car I am referring to is the Cadillac Cien.

It was first shown a the 2002 Detroit Auto Show and then.....nothing. It's not like this kind of thing has never happened before. It is quite common for concept cars to never see the light of day for actual production. And I can understand this for cars that are truly concept and far beyond current technology and really not able to be built as shown. But the Cien is not that far out of possibility. Even if they did away with the futuristic stuff and just built it with current technology. Wow! What a stunner that would be. Do you think they would sell any? Sure. There is definitely a market for something like this.

I've searched the internet and cannot find any mention of why Cadillac (GM) chose not to put the Cien into production. It's a shame I say. Just an utter crime.

OK. Rant done. Back to your normal lives.

JAMES TAYLOR

2008-07-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

We are at the James Taylor concert in Woodinville, Ste. Michelle winery.

Glamour Girl

2008-07-03T05:42:00.001-07:00

Lydia is dressed up for a birthday party.

New Nikon D700

2008-07-01T12:23:00.001-07:00

Today, Nikon Cameras announced the D700 digital SLR. Full frame sensor, 12 mp resolution and most of the technology of the top of the line Pro model, D3. This new camera falls in between the D300 ($1500) and the D3 ($5000) at around $3000, according to early reports. However, the D300 is not a full frame sensor. It is the smaller APS size sensor.

I'd still go for the D300. At 1/2 the cost of the D700 and one-third the cost of the D3, you get 75% to 80% of the specs. Seems like a better deal to me. Course, I'd still love to have a D3.

D700 goes on sale in late July.

R.I.P.

2008-06-27T07:02:00.001-07:00

Sad to say our beloved 23' class C RV has left our family.
Took the RV over Stevens Pass to Chelan for a long weekend with The Smiths, the Gates and the Schmidts. On the way over the RV did not run very well but did manage to get up and over the pass. On the way back it was sounding even worse. But with fingers crossed and hoping it was just my imagination we found ourselves leaving Leavenworth with a full tank of gas and heading up and over Stevens Pass. The poor RV just did not have any power. I finally put it in second low and crawled at 20 to 25 mph over the pass. Once on the downslope I hoped everything would be ok. But as we coasted downhill the engine still sounded sour and still had no power. Worse the vibration was getting steadily worse. Not good, I thought. Within 5 miles the RV shook violently and the oil pressure gauage dropped its needle to zero. I headed for the shoulder and shut off the engine. We sat there in shock for a few seconds with our worst fears being realized. I tried to start the engine to see if we had any hope of proceeding. As I turned the key, nothing but bad grinding noises. Crap! Reine was immediately on the cell phone to the Gates who were probably less than a mile ahead of us. She said they were turning around and heading back to us.
Reine's next phone call was to AAA to see about getting a tow truck. Turns out our AAA membership had expired and it did not include our RV. Reine got that solved and a tow truck was being dispatched.
The Gates returned and Reine and the girls got in and were off for home. I remained with the RV to wait for the tow truck. An hour later, no tow truck. I called AAA and they said the tow truck was stuck in traffic and would take another 15 to 20 minutes to get to me. 25 minutes later he shows us. Takes another 1/2 hour to secure the RV to the tow truck and we are on our way for Monroe. I had already arranged with AAA to be towed to a AAA approved auto repair shop in Monroe. We were approximately 35 miles from Monroe and it took almost an hour to get there. When we arrived Reine was already there with our van waiting for me. We unloaded some of our possessions, secured the RV and I filled out the "night drop" paperwork for the RV. Then we headed for home.
The following day I got a call from Kevin at the repair shop with the devastating news that the crank shaft was broken it the entire engine needed to be replaced. $5500 to install a used engine, $7700 to install a rebuilt, guaranteed engine. Ugh! We don't have that kind of money nor is that old RV worth investing that much into. That's more than we paid for it two years ago. "What are my options?". Volunteers of America won't take it because it doesn't run. Scrap yard won't take it because it has too much other stuff in it besides just metal. Kevin says one of his techs is interested in buying from us for $280.
Hmmmm. Is Kevin trying to rip me off? Is the crank shaft not really broken and he figured he had a stupid city guy who didn't know better and he could pick up a fixable 23' RV for $280? Certainly possible. I do know how the engine sounded and it was not good. It had to be serious carnage inside the engine block. But I am no engine mechanic. Besides, what were my options? Get a second opinion? Yeah, pay Kevin his $80 for the work he had done then have the RV towed to a different shop at the cost of another $500 (RV's are expensive to tow, and there is no way AAA is going to pay for that second tow) to get a second opinion? That would have been a big hit to our finances. Plus, I would have to take time off of work to deal with all this, and it would have to be vacation time, which I am almost all out of and was saving for later in the summer.
Reine and I quickly conferred and it was obvious to us that the old RV was just not worth investing any money into. We both had no hesitation to take the $280 and just walk away. So, we did.
Friday I took the afternoon off from work went out to Monroe, signed over the title to the RV collected my money, took all our stuff out of the RV (everything not directly related to the operation of the RV), turned over the keys to Kevin and went home.
I actually feel better. The RV never ran like I thought it should. There were lots of other, minor things wrong with it, so putting a new engine in it made it useable but it didn't make it that much nicer. Plus, we only had 3 trips planned this summer. Now I have one less thing to deal with and that is a good thing. It was fun while we had it but it just did not make sense to pour more money into it.
We'll tent camp for the last two trips and worry about next year, next year.

NEW BUILDING LIVE CAM

2008-05-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Just found this today:
http://www.ibeamsystems.com/private/5th

Much better than my fuzzy, 47th floor, looking down, cell phone pictures.

NEW BUILDING 7

2008-05-21T14:50:00.001-07:00

All but the lowest portions of the foundation of the old building are now gone. Most of the debris has been hauled off. It was funny to watch them use backhoes grasping large lengths of steel I-beams to push and pull dirt around on site. Too much trouble to bring in a bulldozer I guess. Seemed to work fine. But I can't figure out why they are being so careful to spread the dirt out over the site as I would think they will need to be digging down soon for the new building foundation/parking. Time will tell.

NEW BUILDING 6

2008-05-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

Demolition of the old building continues. Actually the old building is gone. The large backhoe mounted jackhammer runs all day long and is quite annoying. Like a very large woodpecker. All that remains is the foundation. It was interesting to see how they separated the old building from the church sanctuary. They had men with small jackhammers carefully separating the building from the sanctuary, leaving the sanctuary relatively untouched. From street level you can see the boarded up doorways where there were passages between the two structures.
Once they get the foundation out, I expect they will start digging down for the new building foundation/underground parking.

Our fist born turns 14 today! Yeah! 14!

2008-05-06T12:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Sarah! You are a joy to my heart and God's too.

Love, Dad

NEW BUILDING 5

2008-05-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

Old building being hauled off truckload at a time.

NEW BUILDING 4

2008-05-05T07:57:00.001-07:00

They took down most of the old building over the weekend.

NEW BUILDING 3

2008-05-02T14:11:00.001-07:00

Gutted, roof off & walls coming down.

Last Licks

2008-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lydia & I started our cake for the AWANA father-daughter cake event. Lydia got the cake mixing bowl @ thd end.

NEW BUILDING 2

2008-04-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

They have torn out most of the sidewalk on the east side of the property (utility relocation I assume). They are in the process of gutting the inside of the building. I'm curious to see how they amputate the "L" shaped building from the sanctuary building and then patch the hole.

Vacation Photos Uploaded

2008-04-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

UPATE: I just got notice from Flickr that I have exceeded my account limits and they are not going to show all the photos I posted until I send them more $$. Hmmmmm.

I just uploaded our Puerto Vallarta vacation photos to Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewellbalancedgeek/

Kids do the darndest things:

2008-04-24T18:16:00.001-07:00

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