Archive for July, 2007

  • Gettin’ Busy at AcoustiSound™ - July 31st, 2007
  • I was going through my calendar, and noticed that things are really getting busy at AcoustiSoundâ„¢ over the next couple of months, and many of the things that are going on are public events! Visit the AcoustiSoundâ„¢ site, and click on the calendar tab to find out more about some of these events.
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  • Canon Publications On Line - July 31st, 2007
  • Canon in Europe have put up four sets of publications highlighting various aspects of photography. While they’re specific to Canon gear, many of the concepts in these little publications apply equally to all brands of camera gear. Two of the booklets, Using Image Stabilizer Lenses and Do More With Macro are included in the [...]

  • Rod Deacey, Live Recordings from Brewer’s Alley - July 27th, 2007
  • Monday evenings, Rod Deacey hosts a great showcase series upstairs at the Brewer’s Alley in Frederick. This week, AcoustiSoundâ„¢ was on hand to record a few of Rod’s songs. Visit the AcoustiSoundâ„¢ web site to take a listen to the results. 
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  • The Brits Get It, As Usual - July 27th, 2007
  • Didja ever notice how some people just manage to do things better than others? Take magazines, for instance…
    I’ve really gotten tired of most of the US photography magazines. Either they bow to the whims of their advertisers, or the magazine is in reality no more than a huge ad! It’s nearly impossible to read [...]

  • Scooterville Folly - July 24th, 2007
  • It’s no Burgman 400, but it sure is cute!
    The confirmation and course materials for my motorcycle safety and licensing class came in the mail today. Assuming all goes well, I should be licensed by the middle of September. Then all I have to do is figure out how to finance the Burgman …
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  • Photography is Not a Spectator Sport! - July 24th, 2007
  • The only way to make decent photos is to get out there and make them. They don’t happen by themselves.
    — Ken Rockwell

    My goodness! Something from Ken Rockwell that I actually agree with … for the most part.
    I do, however, take exception at his assertion that Ansel Adams “didn’t waste his time reading about lenses…” Ansel Adams [...]

  • When Simple Works! - July 23rd, 2007
  • I’m usually not one to go ga-ga over a product (well, sometimes I do), especially when it’s as “simple” as this one. But, after this past weekend, I do believe that if you’re shooting weddings or location portraits, there’s nothing out there that can improve the lighting in your pictures more than this deceptively [...]

  • Pushing the Envelop? - July 21st, 2007
  • I’m all for going to the edge, photographically, but this is a little extreme!
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  • Indie Heaven Spotlight Seeks New Site - July 18th, 2007
  • This past weekend, AcoustiSound provided sound reinforcement for the Indie Heaven Spotlight concert series, hosted by Rick LaRocca, and held at the Lakeside Cafe in Columbia. Rick’s been doing this series at the Lakeside Cafe since last November, and the series has been quite successful. Unfortunately, our hosts at the Lakeside Cafe have decided that they [...]

  • I’ve Lived Here How Long? - July 16th, 2007
  • Donna and I spent a fairly pleasant (if not hot and sticky) evening … strolling around Wilde Lake. As long as I’ve been around Columbia (more than 35 years!), I don’t think I’ve ever bothered to spend much time there.
    What a treat I was missing! 
    The area is like walking through a wildlife sanctuary — in fact, [...]

  • The Tell Me It’s All Happening … - July 16th, 2007
  • Saturday morning, we went off to the Maryland Zoo to have breakfast with a couple of polar bears. And, while the experience was pretty interesting, I’d have to say that these were a couple of the laziest bears I’ve ever seen in my life.
    The bear in the picture to the left is Magnate Magnet, [...]

  • Atomic Power Redux? - July 12th, 2007
  • In the predawn hours of March 28, 1979, a pressure valve suddenly malfunctioned at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The accident started at the plant’s Unit 2 reactor when a small valve failed to close, causing cooling water to drain from the nuclear core. The core quickly began to [...]

  • Summer Fun With a Big Lens - July 9th, 2007
  • This past weekend was spent at my parent’s place on the Eastern Shore, and, even though it was un-godly hot, we made a couple of trips over to Assateague to take some pictures. I’ve uploaded some pictures to a new set at Flickr, and I’ll be adding to this set over the next couple of days. [...]

  • Laughing Gull - July 8th, 2007
  • Taken at Assateague National Seashore, June 8, 2007. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM lens, 1/1250, f/7.1 ISO200
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  • Kiah’s in charge - July 6th, 2007
  • The bird is having another “I’m in charge” day.  She won’t eat her veggies, she flies where she chooses (usually a shoulder or the top of her cage).  And today she showed one of the cats who’s boss!  Darjha wandered into the room while Kiah was out of her cage.   We decided to let matters proceed and [...]

  • Sigma UK Robbed - July 6th, 2007
  • The offices and warehouse of Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd were broken into on the night of Friday 15th June.
    Click here to learn more.
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  • Zip Zapped … For Now - July 6th, 2007
  • For the time being, I’ve decided that it would be best to hold off on buying the motor scooter. It’s not that it’s a bad idea, it’s just that I would prefer to go about it the “right way.”
    After a lot of research and thought, I’ve determined that a 49cc scooter (for which a motorcycle license [...]

  • DWD — Driving While Distracted - July 5th, 2007
  • USAToday.com is running a story today on legislation that lawmakers are trying to get passed to limit the electronic gadgets that drivers can play with while driving. This is all well and good, but, frankly, doesn’t address any real problem.
    Sure, drivers are distracted. I see it all the time. People yammer away on their [...]

  • Kiah-bird - July 4th, 2007
  • Kiah-bird had a great day today.  She ate some carrots, kale and melon.  She got her neck scratched.  and she spent a few minutes busily preening Geren!
    There are a couple more pictures over on my flickr stream here.
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  • The Pursuit of Zip - July 4th, 2007
  • As I mentioned, I’m considering and researching the purchase of a motor scooter to reduce the use of my van — if for no other reason then to reduce the amount of gasoline I burn. The van gets a whopping 16MPG around town, which is about 90% of my driving.
    In addition to the two [...]

  • Amazing … and Incredible - July 4th, 2007
  • Image stabilization … Yes, it’s a good thing. Maybe even a great thing, making the impossible, well, at least contemplatable.
    We went down to Penn Camera, and picked up a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens and the related Canon 2X tele-extender for it. Yes, I know:
    $$OUCH$$ (But worth every penny)
    The picture at [...]

  • Geren, Kiah and Darjha - July 2nd, 2007
  • So, I’m sitting here in my office, working on the computer. Darjha is passed out on the floor next to me, and Kiah’s sound asleep on the perch.
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  • Birdie’s Got a Name - July 1st, 2007
  • Cockatiels are from Australia, originally, so we thought that an appropriate Aboriginal word would be a good choice. And, since he’s such a gorgeous little fellow (or, fellowette) that something meaning “pretty” or “beautiful” or something like that would be a good choice.
    However, it seems that there’s not really a direct correlation between English and [...]

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