Have a Wee Dram

Stand for the CBC

2011-12-05T19:01:00.002-05:00

I have been a listener and viewer of CBC since 1971. Many things can be said about CBC's contribution to Canada, Canadian society and the rest of the world. What I think is its most important contribution, however, is that it is brings Canada together as a nation. I don't feel it is hyperbole to say that it is the modern equivalent of the building of the Canadian Pacific.

Many of CBC's program, especially Radio One, are family affairs, that bring not only prominent Canadians and international persons into closer dialog with "ordinary" Canadians, but also provide a forum and kitchen table for all those not-so-ordinary Canadians to have a family chat, a debate, or celebration.

As the current government actually conserves nothing, they are, of course, seeking to destroy the CBC. This agenda has in plain sight for decades, and now with a Conservative government that has kicked its progressive sensibilities to the septic field, please stand with me to make your voice heard.

One Month+ with the MacBook Air

2011-11-27T15:57:00.001-05:00

I suppose all love affairs have to end at some point, but I don't foresee my feelings about the MBA changing. If anything, after more than month with it, my admiration for it, if not my crush on it, has increased.

There has not been one hiccough (yeah, I know ... old spelling; I'm old,) and I only see the MacBook line getting better as the technology that drives the Air migrates to the MacBook Pro line. The only drawback I see to the machine is that RAM is not upgradeable. The RAM module(s) is/are soldered to the system board, so upgrading would be difficult and somewhat costly.

The other limitation is the lack of Ethernet port. Designed as an ultralight laptop replacement, this makes sense. WiFi may not be ubiquitous, but it is normally readily available. It is at home or office that an Ethernet port would be an advantage, especially when uploading a lot of data to a network drive.

You can, of course, get a USB-to-Ethernet adapter, but that limits you to 10/100 speeds, as the Air's USB port is 2.0 -- no Gigabit speeds for this machine. The Air's Thunderbolt port is faster than even USB 3.0, so this makes sense. But there are precious few Thunderbolt devices, much less adapters, available at this time, and the jury will be out on Thunderbolt for awhile, perhaps for a long time. A Thunderbolt to gigabit Ethernet adapter would be really, really handy.

Which brings us to Thunderbolt itself. Happily, there are some display port to HDMI available, and I purchased the Kanex which works perfectly and seems to be solidly built. In our spare room we have a 22" HDTV set (720p), and I wanted to use that as a larger display for photo editing and to have a dual display setup available.

With the Kanex adapter, it works perfectly! Well ... as perfectly as the Sylvania (Funai) technology permits. As a TV, the Sylvania is not bad. Video from my satellite receiver via HDMI and Nintendo via component is good. But at only 720p and with an older, lower spec'd panel from an unknown manufacturer, it's really not going to cut it for serious photo editing.

What I would like is a 27" IPS display that can also serve as a TV monitor. At that size, an IPS display is going to run serious money. Models from NEC, Dell, HP are going to be north of $1K, and an Eizo FlexScan SX2762W, which is pretty much an industry standard for the graphics environment, is over $1600.

Enter, then, the Apple Thunderbolt at $999 (less with employee purchase plan discount,) which not only starts to look "cheap" but adds 10Gb peripheral port capability -- and that's full duplex.

The fly in that ointment is that to date there are no adapters available to connect HDMI sources such as AV receivers, satellite and cable boxes to the Thunderbolt display. This is after the first release of Thunderbolt technology about 9 months ago. If I have any criticism of Apple at all, it is that they have repeatedly developed and implemented new I/O technologies that have not gone mainstream. Firewire ... DisplayPort ... these and others were proprietary enough to keep them from becoming standards. In this case, my understanding is that Apple initiated Thunderbolt and transferred IP to Intel for development so that indeed it could become a standard. That's hopeful, but it's not a guarantee of success.

Another option would be for Apple to manufacture or purchase as many adapters and devices for Thunderbolt as possible and flood the market. Hell, make PCI-e to TB adapters and practically give them away. Entice Windows PC owners and at the very least you they will sell some devices that are either Apple branded or branded by 3rd party suppliers closely associated with Apple. How many Windows users have iPods and iPhones? Make the next gen of those devices Thunderbolt-enabled for super-fast syncing (yeah, I know ... iCloud is replacing tethered syncing,) and watch how many of those users eventually buy a Mac.

Such a strategy is not technically difficult. On the Intel page referenced above, Intel states:

"Extend to reach other I/O technologies by using adapters that use widely available PCI Express* controllers. It's simple to create a Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, or eSATA adapter using existing device PCI Express* drivers."

Did you get that Apple and Apple partners?

Of course, Jason Hiner thinks the whole Thunderbolt strategy is a block on wireless USB 3.0

If so, Apple (the only "major" user of TB that I know of) and Intel better get really, really busy. Anyone who comes out with wireless USB is going to have at least a reasonable chance of having a major impact on technology. And making a lot of money.

Then there's the rumoured Apple Television (not the Apple TV set-top device) ... which I would hope would have HDMI input as well as Thunderbolt.

But back to my MacBook Air ... Will Moyer wrote a blog entry about his MBA purchase. His only real negative was that he felt the cursor (arrow) keys were chintzy. I don't find mine to be any different than the other keys, and they certainly don't feel chintzy. I suspect Apple has more than one OEM vendor for keyboards, and I got lucky.

So all-in-all, I'm still thrilled. It's like being on a really long honeymoon with an inanimate object.

Yeah, I'm weird. But you knew that.

My new name is Gene Wilburn

2011-10-01T10:43:00.002-05:00

After all, I'm sitting in a coffee shop, writing on a MacBook Air. This is a good trick because the "real" Gene Wilburn is no doubt sitting across Lake Ontario (about 100 miles as the crow flies,) in a coffee shopt, writing on a MacBook Air.

There is a lovely symmetry to this, don't you think? Actually, it was my friend Gene's experience with his MBA that contributed to my final decision to make the jump.

Gene is a fellow photographer and fellow IT professional. With a long career as a techie, I figured someone who had been a Unix sysadmin, developer working on contract for a major, major online retailer, someone who dove into Apple and loved the experience, well ... what can you say?

Having been a long-time Wintel user, I had resisted Macintosh primarily for two reasons.

First there was the price. Mac fans will argue that there is more long-term value to the purchase of most Apple products, and won't argue that point as I really haven't been qualified to do so. But the fact remains that if you don't have the up-front cash, then you just don't have it. For some years I held that premise as a major barrier.

Second, there was familiarity. Once you're deep into knowledge and experience of a particular system, technical or otherwise, there is an inherent resistance to changing. Don't get me wrong, I am not stubbornly resistant to change. I just knew what a big, time-consuming effort it would be to make the leap.

Fortunately I overcame the first challenge with a really novel technique -- I saved. Shocking, I know. Every paycheque I put aside $75 into savings, moving some of it into a CD once I hit the minimum deposit for a CD. I created a spreadsheet predicting the date when I would be able to purchase a specific model of MacBook. I noticed that in general I would have sufficient funds just after the Air product line was likely to be refreshed.

This pleased me, since I deduced that I likely would be able to purchase a better, more powerful Air for the same money, or I could purchase a previous configuration for less in the event the refreshed models were not a significant upgrade. If you know Apple, you know that latter was not likely to happen. And it didn't.

I ended up with (delivered at 11:51 yesterday!)

MacBook Air 13"
4GB RAM
128 SSD
AppleCare
Apple One-to-One

I'll write another post (or several) about my experience, but for now I can summarize my impressions as follows

* Wow -- amazing design and build quality
* Smooooooth
* SILENT
* Fast

Thoughts on Interdependence Day

2011-07-04T09:56:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know it's Independence Day in the US, and yes, I know there is an Interdependence Project, though I don't know anything, really, about that except that it's a secular Buddhist affiliation.

It occurred to me this morning, however, that one of the central ills of the US is the whole idea of what independence is. Somehow the issue of separation from a ruling government not of one's choosing has morphed into "We can do anything we want just because we are us/US."

This is trouble.

All things, all beings are interdependent. That's not an optional view or belief system.

It just is.

What is Enlightenment?

2011-03-06T13:21:00.001-05:00

Enlightenment

2011-02-08T20:47:00.002-05:00

Enlightenment seems to be greatly misunderstood. As it has no "definitive definition", all I can really say is that is not perfection; it is not achieving a permanent state of detachment from externalities.

Sitting outside, summer day

Silent. Total

Breeze ceased

Skin, air intertwined without notice

That big tree there

That colour of sky

Exist

Awake

Empty Mind

2010-04-23T20:42:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/emptymindfilms

When Fear Begins to Weaken the Fabric

2010-03-29T20:38:00.003-05:00

Two recent articles caught my attention today. Both have fear as their underlying theme. And underlying fear is illusion; the illusion that as individuals we are separate, when in reality we are all one. And the illusion that our thoughts and emotions ARE who we are.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/stiffer-rules-infuriate-quebec-border-town/article1516454/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28rich.html?src=tptw

While there will continue to be disruption and discomfort, I think disintegration is necessary before real change can happen. Some are ready for spiritual change, some not yet.

Golden Moment

2010-02-28T20:42:00.001-05:00

Two Videos on Zen/Zazen

2010-02-15T22:18:00.002-05:00

I encountered these on the Toledo Zen Center website. The first is a very good, and simple, explanation of zazen, i.e. Zen "meditation". The second puts zazen in the context of what Zen "is" ... if we can say such a thing, since Zen simply is, and therefore we can't really say anything. :)

An open letter to Justin

2010-01-21T19:17:00.003-05:00

One day (in the future) you come home from work to find your house burned to the ground by an arsonist; everyone is safe, but pretty much only the foundation of the house remains. What does remain is soaked in water, and your most important personal possessions that might have survived (keyboard, photo album, etc.,) are soaked from the water used by firefighters.

You decide to sue the firec hief because he "ruined" your prized possessions.

Make sense?

Well, this is essentially the situation we have today. The current financial situation is a result of the Chicago school of economics (Milton Friedman, chief guru), which was promoted by successive administrations: Reagan, Bush I, (Clinton to some extent -- I'd have to do some more reading) and Bush II. Essentially it is the Libertarianism of economics, i.e. minimal, if any regulation, put "faith" in the "rational self interest" of the market, etc., etc.

Yet it is flawed, and we saw the results in 2007-2008. The recovery funds for the financial sector was put in motion by Bush. Essentially, he had to do it because the collapse was under his watch, the result of ideology that he espoused and supported. Without doing something, the banking system would have come to a complete collapse and a depression would have ensued. So that was in place before Obama took office, but regardless, Obama was faced with the same necessity.

Then the domestic auto industry came to the brink. GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy. The federal governments of the US and Canada became creditors to enable the companies to survive in some form. This is standard business practice, with certain conditions that protect jobs in both countries. (Bankruptcy (although under different rules) is also available to individuals who experience financial disaster.) Assuming GM and Chrysler survive and return to health, the governments who have invested will be able to sell their shares and recover the investment, and perhaps even healthy profit.

This is not socialism, as the yelping running dogs of the far right scream. (Note: That's SARCASM, a reference to Communist propaganda-speak from before you were born.) Socialism refers to when entire industrial and business sectors are under permanent ownership of the state. No matter what, the US and Canadian governments will not end up owning the auto sector.

I am amused when I hear people address the health care reform debate as "socialized medicine"; nothing could be further from the truth! Private enterprise will still own the hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, etc. All that will change are rules and regulations that broaden coverage. I have my doubts as to how effective this will be, but I think it might be a step forwrd, so am prepared to wait and see how things unfold. (My main concerns are that it is NOT universal and that it still involves too many payers and players, resulting in gross inefficiency and opportunity for discriminatory care. The underlying principle that I hold is that health care is a basic human right, not a privilege or semi-guarantee. This, of course, is a distinctly different discussion, but is one which I think would be valuable for the American public.)

Emotion -- anger and fear -- are valid. But when they become the ground upon which people make decisions, facts go out the window. The US entered and escalated the war in Viet Nam based not so much on reason but on ideological attachment -- the "domino theory", which is fear translated into foreign policy. The 2003 attack on Iraq was the same -- using public fear to justify an unjustifiable action. How many people needlessly died in both of those conflicts?

The same process is occurring now, though the circumstances are different. People are in the dark and afraid. When that occurs, people get angry and act on that anger. The essential question is NOT public policy, e.g., should we reform health care or not, should we help struggling companies, etc. The essential question is "How do we approach social policy in a manner that allows for reasoned (though not dispassionate) discourse, that respects the opinions of all and respects the proper place of not only the majority but everyone?"

I realize that Facebook is a social networking site, and normally serves for one-off comments that range from funny to flippant, sarcastic to serious, birth to death, etc. So rather than fill up space with a status response, I post this here, on my own blog.

To me, the basics are this: understanding the true nature of self (self/not self) and compassion. As I reflect on my own speech and actions, I am increasingly brought back to those compass points. When I look at North American society, I see this as the most pressing need.

I recommend you take a longer view. Your grandparents endured a prolonged depression. While there was debate, both ideological and practical, over policies, the predominant impression I have of that period is that people simply worked together. The impatience of youth is valuable because it adds energy to situations. It can motivate people to take action, it can energize. But precipitate action can also derail thoughtful consideration and careful action. An angry populace is not necessarily a train on the right track.

Grain and Softness

2010-01-02T00:44:00.005-05:00

Sometimes fine grain and sharp focus aren't really the sine qua non. (Click the pic for link to full size.)

Yeah, I wasn't crazy

2010-01-02T00:40:00.005-05:00

I've been wondering if maybe my perception of politics in the US was a figment of my imagination. Apparently not.

Paranoia is in vogue ... again.

No resolutions

2009-12-31T23:11:00.003-05:00

I started this blog a few years ago with a reference to my intention to lose weight. In the intervening years I've lost maybe a few pounds, but not what I wanted ... or intended.

New Years resolutions are useless for most of us because we imagine doing things directly contrary to our nature, our skill set and our patterning. Doomed.

The past year has been wonderful and, in some ways, amazing for me. Yeah, I know, you'd never know it from this blog, as I just haven't been a real blogger. Oh well.

So in 2010, I have some things I want to accomplish, but they're not resolutions. Yes, I've given myself permission to NOT do stuff, which, in a strange way, opens up the path to actually doing. So here goes, here's the things I envision for 2010. Hold me to them, but don't nag, OK?

Lose about 20 lbs, maybe a bit more. I figure a pound a week (on average) is doable, so that is about .35lb/week over the whole year. I'd love to say "and exercise more and get really fit", but hey, let's just start, OK? Exercising and getting really fit would be, like, gravy. Ooops!
Shoot more 4x5. Large format photography is REAL photography, and demands discipline and commitment in multiple areas. Let's say an average of two 4x5 outings per month, which accommodates for the reality that I probably won't do much in winter and until at least a few of those 20 lbs are shed. Carrying a 4x5, tripod and some film holders ain't easy.
Shoot at least 80% b&w. I "see" in b&w, but often pop colour in the camera ... well, who knows why. But I know, inside, that my strength is in monochrome.
Do structured and accurate tests for film speed and development. I used to do that, but have been lax since I resumed photographing.
Savagely edit my work. My flickr postings have included a lot of stuff that was just ... stuff to post. Bah.

Most importantly, pursue the path of Zen. That will inform all of the above.

Segue into health care discussion

2009-12-06T10:46:00.003-05:00

My friend George at Decrepit old Fool published a piece about peace and pacifism yesterday, to which I responded. Our friend, Sue Byler, (at least I'm pretty sure SueB = Sue Byler!) made the connection between the cost of war and violence and the lack of funding for socially desirable policies such as promoting policies that supported having a healthy citizenry. I started writing a reply to that specific comment, but decided not to hijack the thread, so publish it here.

Thanks, Sue, for the segue.

Sue: I agree with your sentiment regarding health care. But truly, health care is never "free", at least in the context of a socio-economic system based on an exchange of currency for goods and services.

I mention this only because (and sorry to hijack this thread...) I think using the word "free" in the context of the health care "debate" (if one can call it a true debate ... yelling/pissing match seems more appropriate...) is counterproductive for those of us who support universal health care.

And really, that is where the discussion should be centred right now. The reality is that a universal health care policy and system will save money and increase both efficiency and standard of living. But the minute we use the word "free", it inflames the right wing and even raises flags for many of those in the political centre.

Canada is often cited as having "free" health care. It isn't free. It is funded through taxes. The differences are:

1. It is universal and federally mandated under the Canada Health Care act.

2. Employment-based contribution or taxation is not required for coverage. In other words, if I lose my job, I am still entitled to health care services.

Beauty in a Garden

2009-11-18T23:23:00.004-05:00

In ancient times, when I was a biology student in university, I worked as an undergraduate assistant in the department. I assisted a professor and his graduate student. Dr. Hetzel was a professor of invertebrate zoology, (note: it's pronounced "zO ology", not "zoo ology"!), which was what was my interest. This was due to my intention at the time of going into marine biology or some other form of aquatic biology. While there are plenty of vertebrates in aquatic environments, the invertebrate world forms the foundation of the animal kindgdom, and I felt was especially important in marine environments, hence its importance.

So for me, animal species that are seen as "icky" and evoke a "Yewwww!" or fear reactions are for me simply objects of curiosity if not fascination, and often of beauty and awe.

Dr. Hetzel's Masters student, Shirley Moore, was doing her research in slug hematology, i.e. the study of "slug blood". (I don't recall the species Ms. Moore worked with, though I believe it was the "common garden" slug.)

So when I saw this story in the the Toronto Star, the photo of this beautiful (yes beautiful!) slug just popped off the screen and took me back to the days when on the microtome, I sliced up the sacrificed slugs which had been embedded in parafin.

So the next time my wife calls me a "slug", I'll point out how beautiful a slug can be. Of course, she may still choose to think about parafin and slicing ...

Down Photo-Memory Lane

2009-11-11T21:36:00.006-05:00

One reason well all love still photos is they can instantly evoke feelings, the lingering scent of a memory that is disintegrating in consciousness. But that aroma, that feeling can be instantly invoked by the photo. The photo is four years old, the camera/lens is likely older than most people on the planet. No matter.

(click for entire image)

On Matt's Wall

2009-11-09T13:20:00.002-05:00

My young nephew Matt was in mourning the other day, a result of the House passing a health care bill. A wee discussion (OK, it was in danger of becoming a brush fire if not a firestorm) resulted. Trying not to fan the flames, I wrote a couple of responses, two being required due to the length limit on Facebook. For what it's worth, here's what I wrote.

One of the characteristics of the health care discussion, and the discussion of the direction of US social policy in general, has been the use of the word socialism. Those who are vehemently opposed to the social initiatives either enacted or proposed by the current administration use the blank term socialism quite loudly. (Some actually use socialism and fascism interchangeably, which makes my head spin!)

Both the tone and frequency of the use of the word indicates to me that it is being used as a “scare” word, a scare tactic, if you will. Of course in the minds of those who are strongly opposed, sometimes even strident, they are not scare mongering. But nonetheless few, if any, stop and clearly state their definition of socialism. One gets the distinct impression that socialism is anything which which they disagree regarding social policy and programs. Such a position does not foster true, constructive dialog, as those engaged would be forever disagreeing about definitions and perhaps never getting on to empirical issues, i.e., solving shared problems.

Before I insert some dictionary definitions of socialism, however, I do want to state that I do not come to the characterizing those opposed to universal health care as using scare words lightly. One thing that I have learned in observing human behaviour is that when people use scary, boogie man words, 99.99% of the time it is because they themselves are scared. They are scared of uncertainty, scared because they have been led to a place of fear or paranoia, or perhaps scared of something uncomfortable inside themselves which is being revealed by the debate at hand.

In US recent history, this is quite understandable, perhaps even predictable. The roots may stretch even further back, but they at least began growing with the Viet Nam war, accompanied by massive cultural shifts, an unprecedented communications revolution, additional armed conflicts that have shaken or at least challenged some core beliefs, and finally economic upheaval that has been both hard to understand and hard to take.

No wonder there has been fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Now, on to some definitions of socialism …

From dictionary.reference.com:

so⋅cial⋅ism
/ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/

–noun
.
1.a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2.procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3.(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

From merriam-webster.com:

Main Entry: so·cial·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm\
Function: noun
Date: 1837
1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership an administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
Neither the OED or American Heritage have free online searches available, so I will have to be content that their definitions are substantially the same at their core, though perhaps more detailed. What is clear to me here, is that the term “socialism!” as applied to the health care debate misses the mark, and by a large margin.
In my opening response to Matt's post, I purposely used the term “social programs” to counterbalance his use of socialism. (Matt, of course, is better [and world-wide] known as a duct tape artiste. My own opinion is that so far he is much more accomplished in that genre than political acuity. But I'm working on him. ;) )

I wanted to tease out individual definitions of “socialism” that I knew needed to be declared, and provoke the kind of discussion we have been dancing around … or “around which we have been dancing”, to be a bit more stuffy.

Aside from the obvious need to define terms in any debate or discussion, I come at the specific debate on health care, and a discussion of social policy in general, from what I think is a more empirical viewpoint. I am trained as a scientist (biology and chemistry), and have made a career in computer networking. Both of those pursuits require clear definitions and scientific rigor, i.e., empiricism, for one to be successful. “Feelings” don't count. Opinion, ultimately, doesn't count when it comes to core technologies.

So having experienced both private and public, universal single payer health care, I can speak from experience that relatively few in the US have. This is why Trevor's question to Matt is, I think, important. As in Sweden, many other countries (democracies at that) have public health care. Canada, Norway, Sweden, UK, France (mixed model), etc. … and nearly all of them have health outcomes that are BETTER than the US. Life expectancy in Canada, where I live and work and which provides a reference in which all other major social factors are nearly identical to the US, is 5-7 years longer, IIRC, to the US. And the health care system is less expensive, by around 30%.

There is a real world example based on actual data, not theory or political posture. Even though the current government of Canada is far more right-leaning than makes me comfortable, they would be thrown out in a split second if they evinced any tendency to fundamentally challenge Medicare. Canadians love their beer, their arts and hockey. But if push came to shove they would give up those three rather than health care. (Note: Anyone who wants to present the political “ad” about the woman who had to come to the US to get live-saving treatment should think twice. That ad was a lie; the woman was NOT in a life threatening situation, as attested by multiple physicians and the head of the Ontario Medical Association (as I recollect), and in fact she sued the Ontario government to recover the money she had to acquire by way of a mortgage which she cannot now repay.)

Not only is health care considered a human right, but it is seen as a distinct advantage both socially and economically. Businesses that invest in Canada actually figure in the benefit of universal coverage when calculating their risk analysis and business plans. That is one reason the auto sector has been so strong in Canada, and not just for the domestic manufacturers, or what is left of the “Big Three”. Toyota and Honda are heavily invested in Canadian operations, and part of that is due to health care, along with the skilled labour force and support industries. The next time you buy a Corolla, Civic, Equinox, Flex, Camaro … think about that. All those vehicles are built in Canada, along with others.

And further evidence of Canadian “socialism” is the regulation of the banking industry. Being more heavily regulated in areas left unregulated in the US, Canadian banks are far stronger, having experienced far less loss and damage during the financial sector crisis originated in the US. Where there used to be laughter at the “stodgy, over-regulated” banks in Canada, there is now chagrin. The housing sector is healthy after a short dip, with the larger cities experiencing increasing values for new and re-sale homes. (Not that I consider that the absolute yardstick of health in real estate.)

One of the characteristics of the health care discussion, and the discussion of the direction of US social policy in general, has been the use of the word socialism. Those who are vehemently opposed to the social initiatives either enacted or proposed by the current administration use the blank term socialism quite loudly. (Some actually use socialism and fascism interchangeably, which makes my head spin!)

Both the tone and frequency of the use of the word indicates to me that it is being used as a “scare” word, a scare tactic, if you will. Of course in the minds of those who are strongly opposed, sometimes even strident, they are not scare mongering. But nonetheless few, if any, stop and clearly state their definition of socialism. One gets the distinct impression that socialism is anything which which they disagree regarding social policy and programs. Such a position does not foster true, constructive dialog, as those engaged would be forever disagreeing about definitions and perhaps never getting on to empirical issues, i.e., solving shared problems.

Before I insert some dictionary definitions of socialism, however, I do want to state that I do not come to the characterizing those opposed to universal health care as using scare words lightly. One thing that I have learned in observing human behaviour is that when people use scary, boogie man words, 99.99% of the time it is because they themselves are scared. They are scared of uncertainty, scared because they have been led to a place of fear or paranoia, or perhaps scared of something uncomfortable inside themselves which is being revealed by the debate at hand.... Read More

In US recent history, this is quite understandable, perhaps even predictable. The roots may stretch even further back, but they at least began growing with the Viet Nam war, accompanied by massive cultural shifts, an unprecedented communications revolution, additional armed conflicts that have shaken or at least challenged some core beliefs, and finally economic upheaval that has been both hard to understand and hard to take.

No wonder there has been fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Now, on to some definitions of socialism …

From dictionary.reference.com:

so⋅cial⋅ism
/ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/

–noun
.
1.a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2.procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3.(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

From merriam-webster.com:

Main Entry: so·cial·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm\
Function: noun
Date: 1837
1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership an administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
Neither the OED or American Heritage have free online searches available, so I will have to be content that their definitions are substantially the same at their core, though perhaps more detailed. What is clear to me here, is that the term “socialism!” as applied to the health care debate misses the mark, and by a large margin.
In my opening response to Matt's post, I purposely used the term “social programs” to counterbalance his use of socialism. (Matt, of course, is better [and world-wide] known as a duct tape artiste. My own opinion is that so far he is much more accomplished in that genre than political acuity. But I'm working on him. ;) )

I wanted to tease out individual definitions of “socialism” that I knew needed to be declared, and provoke the kind of discussion we have been dancing around … or “around which we have been dancing”, to be a bit more stuffy.

Aside from the obvious need to define terms in any debate or discussion, I come at the specific debate on health care, and a discussion of social policy in general, from what I think is a more empirical viewpoint. I am trained as a scientist (biology and chemistry), and have made a career in computer networking. Both of those pursuits require clear definitions and scientific rigor, i.e., empiricism, for one to be successful. “Feelings” don't count. Opinion, ultimately, doesn't count when it comes to core technologies.

So having experienced both private and public, universal single payer health care, I can speak from experience that relatively few in the US have. This is why Trevor's question to Matt is, I think, important. As in Sweden, many other countries (democracies at that) have public health care. Canada, Norway, Sweden, UK, France (mixed model), etc. … and nearly all of them have health outcomes that are BETTER than the US. Life expectancy in Canada, where I live and work and which provides a reference in which all other major social factors are nearly identical to the US, is 5-7 years longer, IIRC, to the US. And the health care system is less expensive, by around 30%.

There is a real world example based on actual data, not theory or political posture. Even though the current government of Canada is far more right-leaning than makes me comfortable, they would be thrown out in a split second if they evinced any tendency to fundamentally challenge Medicare. Canadians love their beer, their arts and hockey. But if push came to shove they would give up those three rather than health care. (Note: Anyone who wants to present the political “ad” about the woman who had to come to the US to get live-saving treatment should think twice. That ad was a lie; the woman was NOT in a life threatening situation, as attested by multiple physicians and the head of the Ontario Medical Association (as I recollect), and in fact she sued the Ontario government to recover the money she had to acquire by way of a mortgage which she cannot now repay.)

Not only is health care considered a human right, but it is seen as a distinct advantage both socially and economically. Businesses that invest in Canada actually figure in the benefit of universal coverage when calculating their risk analysis and business plans. That is one reason the auto sector has been so strong in Canada, and not just for the domestic manufacturers, or what is left of the “Big Three”. Toyota and Honda are heavily invested in Canadian operations, and part of that is due to health care, along with the skilled labour force and support industries. The next time you buy a Corolla, Civic, Equinox, Flex, Camaro … think about that. All those vehicles are built in Canada, along with others.

And further evidence of Canadian “socialism” is the regulation of the banking industry. Being more heavily regulated in areas left unregulated in the US, Canadian banks are far stronger, having experienced far less loss and damage during the financial sector crisis originated in the US. Where there used to be laughter at the “stodgy, over-regulated” banks in Canada, there is now chagrin. The housing sector is healthy after a short dip, with the larger cities experiencing increasing values for new and re-sale homes. (Not that I consider that the absolute yardstick of health in real estate.)

Matt, Thomas, et al … the lack of universal, affordable health care has been killing the US for decades now. It is exactly the opposite of what you posit. I am not naïve (or stupid) enough to believe that any public health care system is perfect. I am not naïve (or stupid) enough to believe that government involvement in any social program is without problems or even, at some stages, peril. I am not naïve (or stupid) enough to propose that the Medicare in Canada, NHS in the UK, or the systems in other countries with universal care are without inefficiencies and open to abuse and even, sometimes, corruption.

But I am also not naïve (or stupid) enough to hope, against all past experience, that a completely private system, monopolized by a relative few large corporations, will extend care to all, will root out its own dishonesty and the corruption of blacklisting subscribers on the basis of a corporate profit outlook required to satisfy Wall Street analysts who wouldn't know the difference between a suture and the incision requiring it. Nor could they care.

Thomas, your reply to my “rights” statement was interesting. I sincerely apologized because I hadn't made myself clear, and I really should have made a greater effort.

What your response told me was that you didn't understand that I was speaking of a human right rather than a commercial opportunity. Your example, that of being able to go to Shell or Exxon, etc., and buy gasoline as long as you have the money, is not a “right” in the same sense. It is, as I stated above, a commercial opportunity. It's interesting that you have the civil (i.e., social) right to do so without discrimination against your race, ethnicity, disability or religion, precisely because of the entrenchment of your human rights within the law of the land.

As long as we cast health care within the sole realm of commercial enterprise, we won't agree. All that progressives are trying to do is extend what we sincerely hold as a human right into a democratic society. If we could all stop with the hyperbolic and hysterical rhetoric, maybe we could come to understanding, and perhaps, then, some agreement.

Peace

Blog Roll Addition: John Densky

2009-10-20T20:08:00.004-05:00

This past summer, I had the pleasure of meeting John Densky, a freelance photojournalist based in London, ON and Montreal. I added his site to the blog roll. In two days I learned a lot from John, and it is possible we may collaborate in the future. Hooking up with John and Larry Towell at the Home County Folk Festival on the same weekend was amazing ... I remember being ecstatic afterwards, telling my wife that "this was one of the best weekends of my life." She was glad, and I was glad she didn't ask "better than the weekend we got married?" LOL ... Thanks, sweetie!

It's not fair, but here is the "fearless" Densky, photographing a giggling daughter ... Giggling because of what her camera will capture on self-timer. Peace.

Living by the Sydenham River

2009-10-12T13:11:00.006-05:00

When I worked at University of Western Ontario, one of the residences was Medway-Sydenham Hall. Sydenham was taken from the Sydenham River, which winds its way through SWO (Southwestern Ontario), with its source near London, emptying into Lake St. Clair.

The previous blog entry about growing junk food had additional impact because not only do I know the area somewhat, but one of my favourite photographers, Larry Towell of Magnum, lives close to the Sydenham in Lambton County.

Larry Towell
Home County Folk Festival
London, ON
July 2009

I met up with Larry at the Home County Festival in London this past summer. It wasn't planned; he, his wife and a son just happened to be there. I had attended the first festival 35 years ago and hadn't had the opportunity since. It turns out Larry and Ann have been attending ever since I left London in 1977.

If you don't know Larry's work, a "gentle" way to get into it is his marvelous book The World from My Front Porch. There you will find, through Larry's excellent writing as well as his photographs, the attachment his family has to the land near the Sydenham. Juxtaposed with the junk food article, the images of Larry's children growing up in an idyllic setting where they used to be able swim in a Sydenham before it became sick and unfit slam home the awful and sad reality of a junk food society.

Eating ourselves (and the planet) to death

2009-10-11T18:27:00.006-05:00

As cheap food has proliferated (i.e., junk food), obesity has increased, overall health decreased, and the environment suffers. That is not news to anyone, and no one who is informed and "in their right mind" would deny it. The god of cheapness is a lie, but it is an idol far too many choose to worship.

Today the Toronto Star published part 1 of a 3-part series ... Where We Grow Our Junk Food. The significance of this piece is not just its content, but also the incredible writing itself. It is so well structured, with clarity of writing that I asked myself, "Who is Margaret Webb?" It turns out Margaret Webb has impressive credentials (the photo is NOT from the farm outside Barrie where she grew up ... there are no mountains near Barrie ... Blue Mountain is more like "Blue Bump"!) and no doubt seeking out more of her work will be rewarding.

Growing up in the US Midwest where corn and beans are king, I am all to familiar with the denial that exists when vested interests are confronted with the disaster of cheap food. Not only do the agribusiness royalty not cotton to having their empires threatened, but the spin-off economies are substantial. Of course, a sane food policy would be even better for the everyone, but who can envision that when they were blinkers?

I have two nephews on my wife's side, one of whom is really, really angry, mostly about the state of the world. His Facebook wall is covered with anti-government, anti-authority, anti-Obama rants. While I could discuss contrary views with him, it struck me that what is really important is the anger itself ... and that instinctively he knows that the system is really screwed up ... the whole agribusiness/cheap food/advertising conglomerate is one of the subsystems that is killing people and putting our future at risk. What is unfortunate is that like a lot of people of his age (18-ish), he has not had the rearing and training to handle the anger itself, to translate the anger into positive energy. I don't blame him for that.

Perhaps this type of well-written piece can help provide a foundation for action for him and others.

Not Just Zuiko/Olympus

2009-10-10T21:44:00.002-05:00

Konica Hexanon AR 40/1.7.

Death of a Pigeon

2009-08-01T20:46:00.003-05:00

Sitting at a Cuban lounge on Chatam St. in Windsor, Ontario. It's a long weekend, and many of the streets are blocked off, many of the bars have extended their sidewalk seating into the streets, and there will be bands ... and, the bar owners hope, crowds to bolster the battered Windsor economy.

There is a faint thud across the street, hardly noticeable ... and a pigeon flies into view. It heads straight for the black lacquered door of Danny's of Windsor (Hot Nude Male Strip Bar!), and clings by its toes to the crack between the top of the door and the lintel. For a few seconds ... then it flutters weakly to the pavement, and dies.

The thud had been the pigeon, flying into the glass on a building across the street.

A palpable sadness runs through everyone, hushed gasps emitting, torn from whatever worlds they had been creating, into the universal truth they had not expected. Paulo, the quintessential Italian male, has his face transformed by a force which he barely recognized. A common bird, often reviled for its commonness, has split the evening air. And united all.

Kodachrome

2009-07-03T15:44:00.004-05:00

A couple of recent Kodachrome shots, August 2007.

Onion Island, Hattie's Cove, Pukaskwa National Park, Lake Superior. The focus was on the distant tree line with the foreground purposely left soft. I was pleased with the results ... it seems very Group of Seven to me.

My Ruch cedar strip/canvas canoe, Hattie's Cove.

Kodachrome "retired"

2009-06-28T08:20:00.009-05:00

I will write more on Kodachrome later. I am currently working away from home on an extended assignment, so don't have access to all my image files.

Steven Schaub has an interesting take in the form of an audio file: http://figitalrevolution.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/ds300938.mp3

Along with three other influential photographers from the online community, he visited Kodak recently for a "secret meeting", to be briefed on Kodak's discontinuing Kodachrome, and the future of film.

I do not have complete trust in Kodak's committment to film. This is born of the experience corporate behaviour. A company's "word" on something seems to be as trustworthy for as long as the ink is drying on a corporate quarterly statement. With a new CEO, you have yet another new "committment to our customers".

Sorry for sounding negative, but I have not yet had my morning zazen.

Performing on the World Stage

2008-07-12T12:38:00.002-05:00

I've often thought that of the attractions of the Internet is that it gives anyone with access the possibility of finally getting their 15 minutes of fame on a world stage. Of course, world personalities and leaders have way more than 15 minutes. Too bad W chooses to always screw it up. Sheesh ... a perfect example of someone acting out their true beliefs under the guise of "humour" ... I'm sure he'd say "I was just joshin' ya." Right.

Bikes

2008-06-29T08:03:00.004-05:00

Over on Decrepit Old Fool, My friend George recently posted a fabulous article on how to tell a good bike from junk, and how to select a bike for purchase.

Those who know me personally might be surprised that yes, I can ride a bike (even my wife was surprised by that when I mentioned it recently; we've been married nearly 6 years now ... surprise, sweetie!), .... While it was my good ole Dad who taught me how to ride a two-wheeler, it was George who helped me understand what a quality bike is. At one point he rebuilt a bike that I purchased for $10 from a garage sale, essentially just using the frame which, while of high quality, wasn't particularly light. It was much more enjoyable to ride than anything I'd had. My Dad had bought a good bike to get me started (a Raleigh from the era when a decent Raleigh didn't cost a week's (or more) salary,) but DOF got me interested in riding better.

After the bike rebuild, I frequented a local bike shop a few times and did the test rides, although not to the extent that George recommends. It was a revelation when I got on a Fuji bike that was made for smaller folks like me. As I recall, the front wheel was about 2" smaller than the rear. This bike fit me like a glove, was easy to propel, and was smooooooth. (Smooooooth is a highly technical term that I use when I need to impress you with my grasp of physics and mechanics.)

I'm not really in the market for a bike right now, but out of curiosity, I have visited the Fuji Bikes website to see if I could find a contemporary incarnation of that model. Sadly, their website is a mess ... driven obviously by marketing types who use (oxymoron alert!) "lifestyle" design principles rather than common sense. Another reason to seek out a good dealer.

"Practically Infinity Ants"

2008-06-28T08:18:00.003-05:00

Last evening my wife was out front watering the bed of portulaca & peppers (hot), when the 6-year-old neighbour boy from two houses down came by. He showed her a very active ant den, declaring it was a lot of ants ... "Practically infinity ants!"

The world can be pretty amazing when you're six.

Waking Up is Hard to Do

2008-06-17T20:34:00.002-05:00

I don't wake up easily. It takes me a long time to become functional, with some sort of hot beverage (tea, coffee) required. Until I'm fully awake, I am prone to making mistakes ... my balance isn't good, my perception seems off, and I tend to clumsy moves.

So this morning, as I went to scoop coffee beans into the grinder, I dropped the container in which I store beans, and I had some sweeping to do. Luckily, the container was nearly empty and I had more beans I'd purchased from Boulder Coffee.

The blend I'd spilled? Boulder's Crash and Burn. Of course.

What Do We Value?

2008-05-15T20:23:00.003-05:00

Watching the CBC National broadcast from 5/14/08, the feature segment was on the world food shortage. The entire segment is highly informative, but the most provocative thing to me was Francis Moore Lappé's (author of Diet for a Small Planet) analysis of the current situation. Her incisive statement is about 7:20 into the segment. Basically, she cites a deficit of democracy, as symbolized by ADM, largest or 2nd largest grain trader, increasing their profit by 65% last year, while rising food prices will push approximately 100 million more people into poverty and hunger or starvation.

I know that statistics can be slippery things; ADM may have increased their profit dramatically through cost-cutting, maybe the gain is measured against miserable results the previous year, etc. Somehow I don't think so.

But this is not about singling out ADM as a corporate villain, though they aren't on my list for a Nobel prize.

What is really at stake is a system that uses even the most basic of human needs -- food -- to concentrate wealth and power in corporate structures that answer only to the mantra of unending and unbridled growth. As Brian Stewart says in the CBC piece, all the signs of the impending shortage were there, but very few were paying attention.

There is some small sliver of hope that enough people will wake up to what real democracy is all about, and that we can avoid food and resource wars and the catastrophe that would be. Real democracy protects its citizens not only from crime and military attack, but also from trauma by institutionalized greed.

Why I Love Film

2008-05-13T21:27:00.003-05:00

Some people expend a lot of effort in Photoshop to get digital captures to look like this. GIVE IT UP FOLKS ... JUST USE FILM!

South Wedge Morning

2008-05-06T22:33:00.001-05:00

In early April I started a self-assigned project called South Wedge Morning. South Wedge is a historic Rochester neighbourhood that is undergoing renewal. As such, it is interesting to observe the evolution.

I have no attachment to the district; I don't live there, I simply pass through on my daily work commute. So it was some of the more charming architecture, witnessing some of the renovations as the progressed (or stalled) each day, and the occasional press buzz that stimulated my initial interest.

The idea to make an "unstructured" documentation project really took on a life when I saw it as a way of also meeting a couple of other needs.

First, such a project would get me out of the house (off my fat butt) on weekends. I tend to be inert. Once I am moving, I'm fine, and once I start a project that holds my imagination, I tend to keep rolling. (My wife would dispute this, but "honeydew" lists don't count.) I don't awaken quickly, easily or gently, so lingering over a homemade cappuccino while watching CBC Newsworld on a weekend morning is luxury to me.

But as a habit, that doesn't support physical well-being; I need to be physically moving to improve heart health, promote flexibility and muscle tone, not to mention fighting mental stagnation.

It also doesn't exercise photographic vision; it doesn't add to any body of work. No photographer ever started out fully formed. Even the rare genius needs to work. I have several other photo projects and "goals". Getting myself in gear was increasingly important as I felt I was in danger of becoming permanently stagnant.

South Wedge Morning formed as a very manageable way of moving forward. There is no road map, no list of themes or shots to be checked off a list. I simply want to be an observer and allow the project to define itself ... mostly.

What requirements I do have are:

1. Be there. It is important that I keep working until the work is done. "Done" will be one year or less. If a year passes, that will be it, even if I feel that more could be done. In that eventuality, it would be necessary to do some examination a better define what I am really trying to do.

On the other hand, if I get to a point where I just know it is finished, I'll just stop. The one year horizon is not a schedule, but is a limit.

2. Work only in the morning. The only reason for this is to impose a bit of theme, and some challenge. Morning light is generally pleasant and "photogenic", but if only morning light is available, then some subjects or situations may require some creativity or at least forethought. It also forces that bit about getting my butt moving.

3. Include people and connection to the local community. I would consider a finished body of work without that element to be incomplete and far less of a "success" for me. This will take me into a journalistic role that I have not taken in many years. Even when I did photograph people, it was very limited and not very significant. The simple truth is that to tell a story, I have to have a story. If that story is external, then I have to receive and learn the story. As someone who has practiced telling nearly to the exclusion of hearing, this will be the tough part.

For now the photos will be published on flickr, (you can see the photos tagged with South Wedge here) with selections embedded here when I am motivated to add some text. Once I start organizing the work, I may move everything onto the blog or a separate website.

The Real McCain

2008-04-09T19:24:00.004-05:00

I have never trusted John McCain. I had some sympathy when the Bush team Bush-whacked him in Carolina in 2000 (despicable behaviour), but his dumping of his first wife as a result of her horrific accident, his propensity for explosive outbursts, wiped out any respect.

If the Democrats nominated Howdy Doody in 2008, it would be a better choice than John "Pity Me" "100 years" McCain. If you thought Bill Clinton had "issues" ...

Support a Ban on Handguns in Canada

2008-04-08T20:26:00.003-05:00

I know my friend DOF will disagree, but he's not Canadian, so ... :D

Anyway, I can't think of one good reason that anyone needs a handgun. And the arguments of "guns don't kill, people do", and "banning guns only assures that criminals will have them" doesn't wash. I think those who take those positions are intellectually dishonest.

Without banning handguns, there will be no progress. A simple ban is not a complete solution. No one has ever said that. But it is an essential first step.

Java Joe's is No More

2008-03-22T13:32:00.004-05:00

3/22/08

Jaava Joe's is no more!

I knew something was up; for months Joe had been scaling back operations, changing things. Over a year ago the cafe hours had gone from 7 days a week, to five, then four, then three. Sue, the luscious lass from whom I typically bought my beans, had once told me more changes were coming. And when I had last been in, Sue was not around, the kitchen was closed. A sign simply stated "new menu coming".

So today, as I walked the market before heading into Joe's, I ran into my friend Gene Olczak. As we chatted, Gene said he had discovered that Joe had sold to Boulder Coffee Company. Hmmm. The space itself, along with the market clientèle, will likely dictate that not much will change. There is another Boulder location in town, I just hadn't gone to it yet ... a grave personal failure, to be sure.

Gene's story (and who can doubt him? He's a freakin' brilliant optical engineer involved in putting remote sensing into space), is that Joe will continue to sell beans just up the street. And that Boulder's beans will "match" Joe's fare. Well, the deal is probably that Joe will sell beans to Boulder; I don't think Joe writes bad deals.

Writing this entry at Boulder.

Sammy Turned One

2008-03-22T12:58:00.003-05:00

My great-nephew, Sammy, recently celebrated his first birthday. Well, "celebrated" is stretching it a bit. As with most yearlings, he didn't quite know what to make of things.

Once sister Sophie decided to help, he began to get the picture. My prediction: Next year he will be a little less tolerant of "help".

Kodak Tri-X, EI 1600, Rodinal/X-Tol (3ml Rodinal, X-Tol 1:1) 7 min 52 sec. Olympus OM-1n, Zuiko 50/f1.4.

Tibet

2008-03-21T17:04:00.003-05:00

© 2008 Terry Cioni/Terry Cioni's Flickr

In the media world dominated by byte-sized contractions of "news", sorting out the reasons behind events is normally difficult at best, often impossible. As protests in Tibet and surrounding areas seem to have little context, and the official Chinese line has conveniently incorporated the rationale that the "Dalai clique" is attempting to sabotage the upcoming Olympic games for political gain, one must dig for that context.

While it is naive to believe that the Olympics are free of political purpose for any country, much less the host, I tend to agree that the Olympics should be as non-political as possible, as it can be a tool to foster international understanding, cooperation and tolerance.

So when the Chinese government issued harsh statements that attacked the Dalai Lama as a person, I was taken aback. Clearly, this is the behaviour borne of fear. But fear of what? Why? What is behind the (seemingly) new policy?

A story in the Globe & Mail on 3/21/08 is quite revealing. If this piece is even 25% accurate, then it is clear that the Chinese government is involved in cultural genocide against the Tibetan people, not to mention human rights violation in the areas of freedom of religion and speech, as well as an assault on the environment. It turns out this has been building for some time:

" Many analysts say the current wave of protests can be traced back to two key events in 2006: the completion of the new railway to Lhasa, which has brought millions of Chinese tourists and migrants to Tibet, and the appointment of a tough new Communist regional boss, Zhang Qingli, who announced a "life or death" battle against the Dalai Lama."

If the Chinese government is so sure of the rightness of its position, then they have no reason to restrict the international press and international agencies such as the UN into Tibet and any other area of China.

Short of that, anyone who values human rights and dignity should support a boycott of the 2008 Olympics until the Beijing restores the rights of the Tibetan people and begins to truly address the rights of all its citizens.

Essential Photographic Tool: The canvas field coat

2008-03-12T17:23:00.001-05:00

For some time I have been looking for a good, sturdy canvas field coat. I did not want lining or insulation, as I want to be able to layer my clothing. I wanted lots of pockets so that I can stuff in cameras, film, filters, etc. ... you know, all the stuff everyone needs to take on every foray outside the home.

Last weekend I found this, the Poacher's Pocket Coat at j.peterman.com. Damn, I always thought that J Peterman was a fictitious company only on Seinfeld! Anyway, once I got over the shock of my ignorance, I found it was on closeout sale for $56 instead of the previous $149. Sold!

The pockets (or at least a couple of them) could be a bit bigger, but a 35SP, Leica, Bessa or ZI will fit nicely, even with hoods. The OMs can be stuffed in sans lens shade. The one inside pocket will probably normally house my Zaurus or Moleskine Reporter, aka analog PDA. All-in-all, very versatile and its arrival today was shazaam!!

Taken with my daughter's C4040. There's a bit of moiré. bit what the heck do I know from doing digital?

Oh, and this is yet another "C&C" shot ... Camera & Coat ... or Camera & Canvas, as opposed to Camera & Coffee. :)

My Greek Goddess

2008-03-02T15:36:00.002-05:00

I was introduced to cooking via Food TV Canada. My first exposure to Christine Cushing, was her show Dish it Out; which was not on Food TV. It was a nice little show, and Christine was very good at communicating her enthusiasm for good cooking, while breaking it down to its simplest basics. She went on to Food TV Canada with what I consider one of the best cooking shows anywhere, Christine Cushing Live. In a one hour live format, Christine not only cooked and taught, but fielded calls from viewers. All good things end, but happily Christine is still cooking and teaching. Her latest newsletter embedded a link to this video. She's still got "it" ... in every way. :)

Opening Night at Eastman House

2008-02-27T10:46:00.001-05:00

Saturday, Feb 16 2008, George Eastman House hosted a members reception for the opening of new exhibits by Magnum photographers Eli Reed and Larry Towell. The following is an account I wrote up in an email to a friend.

I arrived about 5:45 and the place was already buzzing. The reception was scheduled for 5:30 - 8:00, so I was a bit surprised; fashionably late is not the thing with this crowd!

I grabbed a glass of chardonnay and moved into the crowd, toward the main exibit area. The first Towell photo I saw I was a VERY large print of this photo http://www.magnumphotos.com/CoreXDoc/MAG/Media/TR6/S/K/N/3/PAR136682.jpg , hung outside the main exhibit room. At that enlargement size (probably 40" longest), it is quite soft, which truly matches the moment captured.

I wandered around and encountered Eli Reed, whose "Black in America" exhibit is opening as well. A big, engaging man, he was sporting an Olympus E-3, chatting with a GEH staffer and two other folks. I watched for a break in the conversation, but not finding one I moved on to a woman I recopgnized as the person in charge of the artist lecture series, though I couldn't recall her name. We chatted a bit, and I asked her when Towell would be here again. I meant for another presentation, but she said, "He's here somewhere, I just saw him talking to some people over there." Cool, but I explained my real question, and she told me it is March 27. I'm hoping David, who is coming down for birthday dinner on the 29th, can come early and go with me.

Drifting into the main exhibit area, I was very surprised to see that ALL the prints (at least as far as I remember) are printed quite large. The sharpness and tonality held up so incredibly well, and the effect is marvelous. (On the technical side, this is great since I can now give PROOF that I need better lenses!) The exhibit is entitled "The World From My Front Porch", which encompasses a large body of his work, but the main focus is on his family life and the environs of his farm near Bothwell, Ontario. I guess I expected the prints to be smaller, say 8x or 11x sort of in keeping with the intimacy of the subject matter. So the size of the prints was surprising, but it works so well! My own interpretation of the "message" of having the prints so large is that it says "Hey, the record of family life, the rhythms of our home, the land that holds us, is just as big and 'important' as the intense images of conflict in Palestine, Guatemala. It is all of the same piece."

Often I find my senses overwhelmed in exhibits; this was the case of the Adams exhibit, but this time it seemed even more intense. Primarily it was the images and the design of the installation, but also of course the energy of the evening, of all the people.

Eventually I ran into Larry Towell, introduced myself again, though I'm not sure if he remembered me from the last time he was here. He asked if I was a photographer, and I sort of fumbled my response! I should have just said "Yes, though I'm not working on paying work right now", but I stumbled through something like "I used to be pro, but I didn't like the business side", etc. He said, "None of us do."

I wandered through the rest of the exhibit, though again not really studying images, just glancing, as it were. In the second room, the photos from Palestine, Guatemala and Mexico are mounted. This is where I was overwhelmed again. In the middle of the Palestine photos, a tall chain link fence with razor wire had been installed, with concrete blocks and other detritus from the conflict along the base of the fence. The effect is absolutely overwhelming. At this, I soon I "gave up" on the exhibit. It was just too much to absorb, and I felt happy I 'll be able to return several times to really be mindful and receptive.

Soon I met up again with the lecture events coordinator and a colleague and mentioned how much I was struck by the fence installation. It turns out the fence was the idea of this male colleague, but neither of them had seen it in its final form since the opening, so I thanked him and they went off to a look.

I went back to the main lobby area, and finally had a chance to chat with Eli Reed, who was talking with Ann Towell. I compared my ancient Olympus 35SP with his Olympus E-3 (about 40 years apart!), and he was delighted, and mentioned how much he had especially admired the even older Olympus Pen half-frame cameras. Eli moved on, and from there I introduced myself to Ann, who said, "Why does your name sound familiar?" I said the only thing I could think of was that I had written to Larry about Andrew Murphy, a Halifax photographer who had been in need of some career guidance.

As we chatted about my being from Stratford, we dug into places and times. I told her I had lived in London and was familiar with her area. When I mentioned that I had also briefly lived in Wallaceburg, she said she had been born there. Then when I had told her I had worked at Bluewater Camp while at Wallaceburg, her face lit up and she said she had attended weekend retreats there as a child! We tried to place the timeline, and she knew the name of the guy who had owned the camp when I worked there, so this was a really neat connection! She said I could stop their farm by if I'm in the area, which I thought was really gracious.

After Isaac Towell (one of the sons) and I talked Leafs for a bit (he's a fan, Larry isn't), I excused myself to head home. I arrived just as the puck was about to drop. I was already pumped from the evening, then my boys beat the Bruins in overtime.

Film is Not Dead -- Part Deux

2008-02-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

My thoughts exactly! Thanks to Matt Bigwood, from APUG.ORG

Film is Not Dead

2008-01-30T21:51:00.000-05:00

Highland Park, Rochester, NY 11/07

Highland Park, Rochester NY, 11/07

Highland Park, Rochester NY, 11/07

Evaporators, George Eastman House
Rochester, NY 11/07

Supposedly Kodak has turned into a digital company, and the world no longer cares about film. But don't tell that to Mary Jane Hellyer, the President of Film & Photofinishing and Executive VP. Over the last year under her direction, Kodak has twice updated Portra, its professional colour negative emulsions, and recently has updated T-Max 400, a professional black & white emulsion available in 35mm, 120 & 4x5 sizes.

T-Max 400 (TMY) has had a somewhat tepid response in the past due to its inability to handle overexposure of highlights. This is quite different from the nicer curve of Tri-X. While Tri-X has a totally different grain structure;indeed, Tri-X is a "traditional" emulsion while TMY is a more modern "T-Grain" formulation. So there was a trade-off.

But the new TMY-2 formulation is much improved. I can't say for sure that Kodak has completely solved the issue of highlights; that would take careful testing and I have only had one roll to play with. The film isn't widely shipping yet. But my casual use of TMY-2 has been a wonderful experience. In addition to its improved tonal rendering, it seems to be a true 400 speed film, not the 250 or 320 speed I find optimal for Tri-X.

Kudos to you, Ms. Hellyer. I am sure your budgets for film R&D are not generous. But you have managed to marshal the still significant brain power and production prowess at Kodak to shine beautiful light in the silver-halide world.
Edit/Postscript, 2/1/08

Fuji is showing a prototype for a new medium format film camera at PMA. Their press announcement emphasizes that as an imaging company "Fujifilm remains true to its heritage and to the acknowledged superior image quality delivered by professional photographic film products."

Compare that to (CEO Antonio) Perez' mealy-mouthed public statements on film, and you get the sense of why many photographers are confused about Kodak and its future. No doubt Kodak must be a digital company, but Fuji clearly has a clearer vision of what imaging is and that there are more photographers than those who must use digital due to the need for speed of delivery, increased production quantity, etc. Hellyer recognizes this, unfortunately she is not the CEO. Yet.

Rangefinder Forum has an interesting and entertaining thread about this. And apparently the camera looks like this.

Update: Gene's R3A & Nokton 40/1.4

2008-01-28T21:09:00.001-05:00

Photo: copyright Gene Wilburn

On a stopover at Gene's Sunday morning, I was able to play with the Bessa R3A & Nokton 40/1.4. The grey finish of the camera is absolutely gorgeous. If I were to get an R3A it would definitely be the grey. And the Nokton is certainly smaller than I ever would have imagined.

Likes:

Nokton size and smoothoperation
Solidity of the Bessa
Brightness of the Bessa viewfinder, and layout of framelines

Not-so-likes:

Handling of the Bessa. Its shape feels a bit odd/clunky, especially compared to my 35SP. That might be because Gene had the inexpensive half case on, though. While decent protection, I don't like half cases unless they are luxurious ones such as the Luigi case.
While overall the VF is great, I found using it with spectacles not optimum. I'd need to wear my contacts for best results
Shutter sound. While not terribly loud, louder than my Olympus 35SP and a Leica. I think maybe the pitch and metallic quality might be what stood out

Sadly, Gene says this sample has jammed three times, so it is back to the vendor for replacement.

Vespa & Leica ... and the Nokton 40/1.4

2008-01-22T21:51:00.000-05:00

Over on Rangefinderforum.com a new member from central Pennsylvania popped up, citing his blog about the tie-up between his Vespa and shooting Leica. Scooter in the Sticks is a cheerful site which includes some nice photos. And who knew there were electric gloves made for riding in winter?

My friend Gene writes about saying goodbye to his Leica M2 and hello to a Bessa R3A. After acquiring the Bessa, he ordered a Nokton 40/1.4 lens for the new toy. I'm sure he'll have a blog entry (and sample shots!) up pretty soon, but in an email he related how small it is, especially for a fast lens. I can tell he's excited, but I think I may be just as excited as he is. Flickr has a goodly number of images tagged to this lens, and one photographer of note is Ben in Vancouver, aka sockeyed who does good work with it.

This lens is on my list of probable acquisitions once I dive back into the M mount world, but Mr. K of Cosina is introducing a 35mm f1.4 Nokton, so now the decision will be even more complicated. Sigh.

A New Beginning But Without Much Hope

2008-01-22T21:23:00.001-05:00

As a member of Leafs Nation, that worldwide fraternity of fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I seem to be a glutton for punishment. Today Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment Limited announced the firing of GM John Ferguson, and the hiring of Cliff Fletcher as interim GM. Fletcher, on a 19-month contract, will be in charge of both player personnel and the search for a new permanent GM. This was announced by Richard Peddie, President & CEO of MLSEL.

In my inbox today was a letter from Mr. Peddie with the official announcement of the change in personnel. All I can say is that I am so frustrated with Peddie that I could spit. Here is my open letter to you, Mr. Peddie, which I will also try to post on firerichardpeddie.ca

Mr. Peddie,

I forgive you for the one incomprehensible (non-) sentence in this letter; I attribute it to poor proofreading by the PR department. That's not understandable for what is supposed to be the top hockey organization in the world, but still I will let it pass.

What I cannot forgive is the fact that you have not resigned your own position. I am sure there are other board members who share culpability for the current failure of the Leafs to be a top performing hockey team. But you, as President & CEO, are the person who holds the buck when it stops. Or should.

Please, sir, resign your position effective immediately and let someone who knows more about hiring and managing talented hockey people run this team. Stick to real estate and merchandising, but please do it with some other unfortunate organization.

It is the fans, the people who literally built Maple Leaf Gardens and supported this team, who are the real shareholders. You may have a responsibility to Teachers and other financial shareholders, but the true moral and ethical responsibility is the Leafs Nation. Our blood is blue right now because we must have ice in our veins to withstand the savage way in which you have run this organization.

A proud Leafs fan, but a sad observer,

(signature)

Top of the Chain

2008-01-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

What happens when a species at the top of the food chain disappears? If one species of whale, say a species with a relatively small population, were to go extincet, what would be the consequences?

I suspect many, if not most, people would guess that the rest of the food chain, on which the top species was perched, would simply flourish, and that any follow-on effects would be minimal or none.

While it is true that species directly below likely will increase their numbers, a chain of changes will inevitably follow. Rather than speculate about the disappearance of a species of whale, the polar bear or other species at risk, a look at a species that was eradicated from a confined area can serve as a good example.

Wolf eradication in Yellowstone (and surrounding areas) came as a result of ranchers who blamed wolves for excessively preying on their cattle. What the exact number of losses were is probably not truly known, but what is known is that wolf predation on commercial livestock was largely a result of the elimination of bison (buffalo) herds, a primary food source for wolves. At the time, however, hard science, even if it were available, didn't matter. The wolf had been made an object of fear and hatred, to the benefit of a particular economic interest.

With the removal of the grey wolf population, however, the elk population, having also been an important food source to wolves, increased dramatically. The increased elk herds overgrazed various species of vegetation, including pine trees. The loss of enough pine and other vegetation resulted in soil erosion, loss of ground cover for other species, and the loss of food for still more species.

The soil erosion was significant enough to cause flooding problems, further disturbing the ecosystem.

Whatever one thinks might be the specific effects of ecosystem disturbance or change, no matter how refined one's modeling, there are always at least a few unanticipated results. Ecologists are paid to understand ecosystems and provide at least guidance, if not accurate and specific predictions of ecological change. Given that there is no such thing as 100% accuracy, the combination of uncertainty and the lack of immediate consequences presents a danger to public policy making and societal knowledge of ecological issues. This is especially true with matters of global scale. As humans, we focus on our immediate surroundings and what we can see now.

Lake Superior -- Top of a Chain

The example of wolves in Yellowstone is a relatively simple example of how changes precipitate unintended and unwanted consequences. The same principle obviously applies to geologic systems. The sheer size and power of Lake Superior deceives most into believing it is immutable -- that it cannot be moved, cannot be adversely affected by anything but events of a nuclear scale.

I think most people experience Superior through something akin to a drive-by shooting "Stop here! That's a great picture!". So 99% of its visitors are probably caught in the spell of magnitude and beauty. Absolutely this is essential to understanding our planet, our home.

Three times in my life, out of four trips to Superior, I have been able to stop and live for a bit on the shore. These times have not been simply pleasant vacations, but have been "incrementally" transformative, if that makes any sense.

This last trip was a bit longer. Perhaps not long enough in an absolute sense (permanent residence would be appropriate), but long enough to calm my soul while opening it to "small" things that open up a world not often noticed, hidden behind size and power.

The image that best illustrates this, I think, is this photo of moss & cedars growing from pre-Cambrian rockface of the shore. The whole concept of organisms that break down rock -- and granite at that -- has always amazed me. The conversion to soil as a result of whatever chemical action that is employed is remarkable. In this case, it challenges one to consider that the "food chain" is actually inverted. We would normally consider granite one of the most permanent features of this ecosystem, yet it is lowly moss & lichen that reign. Without species that can convert ancient rock to soil, other species such as the cedars cannot survive.

I am not a working biologist, even though my undergraduate degree is in Biology with an emphasis on invertebrate zoology and my strongest interest continues to be aquatic ecosystems. I am sure that I have oversimplified things with this example. So I admit to being a bit of a wannabe, despite my original grounding in the sciences, and I do welcome comments, corrections and any additional input.

Despite feeling that I have missed something important by not having pursued a work career in my field of study, I am encouraged that I can choose to "reclaim" that study as a foundation for the finale of my life, and combine a renewed interest with my experience and vision in photography and my love of the water.

Pukaskwa Part Deux ... Paddling the Calm

2008-01-09T14:16:00.000-05:00

The day after the morning mist paddle, the weather was extremely calm and the lake nearly as smooth as glass. While one can never count on the weather holding, I felt very confident that the day would be fine for hours. So I headed out with cameras, water and a snack. I was mentally prepared to be gone the whole day, but was open to staying out only as long as I felt comfortable.

I headed out of Hattie's Cove, the entrance to which is a small "notch" (duh, it's a cove) that faces more or less south. My intention was to go north, past Horseshoe Bay, then proceed to the mouth of the Pic River. Horseshoe Bay is the bay adjacent to our campsite; a trail led past our campsite to the bay, and the latter part of the trail is a boardwalk, as the trail traverses a delicate, sandy ecosystem.

The first photo shows the calm waters on today's trip. The bay is somewhat protected, but when the weather is "up", the surf can be quite strong. The second photo (taken on a different day) shows the surf on a typical good weather day. The log in the foreground is blurred because it is actually in motion, being propelled by the incoming surf. I chose a shutter speed that would somewhat freeze the waves in the background, but that was slow enough to hint at the movement of the log.

Even though the surf on photo two is not that heavy, it has enough energy to shove the tree trunk back.

These dunes are north of Pukaskwa proper, on the north side of the Pic River. One of the park's interpretive programs is a trip to the dunes.

Turning up river I paddled to the ceremony grounds for the Pic River First Nation. Near this pavilion are small cottages and trailers, housing some of the band members during the summer. I definitely want to come back here during powwow days and find out more of the history of this site, the people, etc. Pic River people have been here for thousands of years; there's a lot to be gained by learning.

Coming back in, there is a small island at the mouth of Horseshoe Bay. It was fun to paddle around and make at least cursory notice of the flora. By this time I was so "emotionally relaxed" that I really didn't work too hard at making "good" photos. Being relaxed and not thinking too much normally produces better work for me. But this time I was simply more attuned to being where I was, to absorbing rather than creating. That was a good place.

Heading back in for the final leg, I actually missed the entrance to Hattie's Cove. So I ended up paddling around Pulpwood Bay, casually exploring before returning to the cove.

To say I was exhilarated would be a monumental understatement. The day was topped off with the simple elegance of relaxation in a camp chair .... absorbing campfire wood smoke, a bottle of 2003 Hillebrand Estates Showcase Chardonnay and grilled chicken.

No Resolutions for Me

2008-01-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

My friend Gene has bravely blogged his 2008 resolutions -- http://blog.genewilburn.com/archives/23

I gave up on New Year's resolutions quite some time ago. I have nothing against them, but the concept just doesn't work for me.

It finally occurred to me that the reason may simply be that resolutions are too specific. I am far more engaged by "big" ideas, by the themes of my life.

So this year I feel the "right" thing to do is to adopt one or two guiding themes or principles as focus areas.

The first is consciousness. So much of my living seems to be on autopilot, lived in habit. I want to discover what practices, what strategies, work to let me be conscious and live in the moment.

The second I'm not so sure of, or is not so well-formed. Kindness. Or maybe Ahimsa is the better term.

Yes, the next Superior article is coming. ;)

In the works

2007-09-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

More Superior text and photos are in the works. In the meantime, one photo from the first paddling day.

Pukaskwa 1 -- Wilderness Silence

2007-09-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

Note: In mid-August of 2007, my wife and I, along with her 16-year-old nephew, took a two week vacation. It involved a lot of driving (2352 miles), and the bulk of our time was spent at Pukaskwa National Park, near Marathon, Ontario. (Pukaskwa is pronounced "PUH-kuh-saw".) To me, Lake Superior is sacred. You can interpret the word sacred in any way you want; I know what it means to me.

Pukaskwa is a special place in that sacred place, a place set aside not only for the enjoyment of those who find her, but as a protection of wilderness. This is the first of some posts about that trip. Undoubtedly there will be tangents into the ecological, philosophical, photographic and spiritual domains. As I write this post, the bulk of the photos I made are either in transit to/from processing (the Kodachrome), or awaiting some darkroom sessions in the case of the 4x5 Tri-X. Additional posts will come as I receive and process more film.

One of the most unexpected, almost startling things about camping at Lake Superior was the silence. It was most noticeable at night, but my wife also noticed it since there were little, if any, birdsongs in the mornings.

At night when everyone settled in, the only sound was the waves on the beach and the pre-cambrian shield shoreline. Even that was muted on calmer days. The individual campsites are well separated at Pukaskwa, so we normally heard no activity from nearby sites; Pukaskwa's normal campers are very quiet types, not party animals.

This silence seemed to almost disturb, or at least annoy, my wife. To me it was fascinating. While I understand the practice of meditation from an intellectual perspective, and have sometimes successfully meditated, this silence was like someone really explaining the silence of meditation to me by using a palpable, physical example.

I also thought of the social and cultural implications. Any people, but especially pre-contact native communities, undoubtedly have their psyches influenced and formed by such an environment. For example, it aids sustaining sensory sensitivity such as is necessary for tracking, awareness of approaching people from outside the community, alertness to weather changes, etc.

While the whole issue of noise pollution and human detachment/alienation from the natural environment has been raised as a serious social issue from time-to-time, it never seems to sustain a longer, serious discussion and reach the level of an important social concern. It occurs to me that this is most likely because so few people have really experienced the phenomenon of real and nearly complete silence.*

It would be an interesting experiment to place people in such an environment and record their feedback -- both conscious and bio-feedback. I'm sure this has been done, but it still interests me. One additional thing that strikes me is that I am at a loss as to how to describe my reaction. To say that it put me into state something like altered consciousness doesn't really hit the mark, but is as close as I can come at this point. Cleared my mind? Sort of, but it was more like cleansing of soul or spirit. Not that I am totally clean, but I feel cleaner.

If this were the only value of wilderness, it would be enough. I am persuaded that without periods of regular silence immersion, it is not possible to fully connect with the environment.

*For the record, the silence of our particular location was frequently interrupted by helicopter flights. Some were likely from flights to resupply back country campsites with "government issue" bear buckets, and others, I suspect, were taking searchers into and out of Rainbow Provincial Park, where a camper had gone missing while taking a morning run. This did not spoil the experience, rather it seemed to heighten it.

Homelessness

2007-09-06T21:55:00.000-05:00

Whatever your feelings about homelessness, there is no argument that it is an important social issue. I suspect that most of us have never spoken to a homeless person, other than to perhaps utter a phrase while giving someone some spare change, a meal from a fast food joint, etc.; I know I never have.

I stumbled across Ronzig's Blog via his flickr gallery. I recommend visiting both. Clearly Ronzig is a very intelligent person, and his determination to champion the issues of homelessness is extremely moving.

The Hazards of being a Sales Engineer

2007-09-05T19:44:00.000-05:00

How old is NCLB, aka "No Child Left Behind"? I am a Sales Engineer ... er, babysitter for sales people ... and I see evidence of lack of cognitive skills that are beyond my admittedly meagre imagination. These folks are in their 20s on up, so I shudder to think that NCLB is exacerbating the situation.

Example: Sales rep rushes over to my desk, almost breathless. "I just sent you an email, I wanted to check if you got it."

I check and sure enough, an email arrived 7 seconds ago. I hadn't seen it because I was busy websurfing for ways to kill myself without causing my wife to cry.

Summicron

2007-08-16T21:20:00.000-05:00

As much as I love my Zuikos ... Leica M3/90mm Summicron; circa 1981-82. Note: I did NOT retouch this image for dust/dirt, so it is "as is". No post-processing other than unsharp mask to recover original sharpness in the Kodachrome original. Kodachrome STILL rules.

Dummies for Dummies

2007-08-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

This evening I went to my local pharmacy to pick up some film processing. On the way out I passed the cashier and saw a counter display of some of those "... For Dummies" books. One of them was Baby Names for Dummies.

Whaaaat??? I mean, really, are there special names for children of Dummies? Are "Dummies" so stupid they need a special book to help them navigate the world of names for their child-to-be-born? The mind reels.

But it got me to thinking. Without knowing all the "Dummy" titles, this could be a really fun exercise ... come up with the stupidest, dumbest "for Dummies" titles we can think of. So without giving it too much more thought, I offer my own ultimate "for Dummies" title:

Dummy Books for Dummies

Bring em on ... post your ideas and see if you can top that!

2007-08-02T22:16:00.001-05:00

Dipping into History

2007-07-28T10:22:00.001-05:00

Some recent, some older, none ancient.

iZon ... day 2

2007-07-12T20:37:00.000-05:00

Well, my first entry about the iZon lenses was way too long. My SO reminds me that I have a knack for making short stories VERY long, and I proved it. So here's the executive summary, plus some thoughts after a full second day with the wonder-lenses...

Tina adjusted the spectacles and things feel "right" now. Before that was accomplished, my eyes had to "hunt" around for the proper alignment to find the right power, plus I was frequently adjusting the positioning on the bridge of my nose. So I wasn't really "visually relaxed" and able to allow the new vision to become natural.

But now things are settled in, and the new view of the world is sinking in. On one level the difference is subtle ... the improved definition, more natural colour saturation and tonal range just seem natural but not so dramatically different as to be like the difference between 1960s colour TV and current HDTV . On the other hand, it is almost jarring to think that I regarded the view BI (before iZon) as "normal".

But my impression of the improvement remains pretty much the same today. The impact of having the new view become my norm still seems magical. One additional thing that has impressed me is the diminished amount of glare from the lighting at work. It's not that I really noticed it before, but now I notice the absence of glare.

I have no real quibbles except the the iZon technology is not available in contact lenses. As a photographer, I prefer contacts when using 35mm cameras. Reportedly Opthonix (the company that owns the iZon technology and markets the lenses) started out wanting to apply the basic technology to contact lenses, but didn't have a good manufacturing partner, combined with contact market economics that did not make a favourable business case. I've sent Opthonix and email pleading for iZon contact lenses.

High Def Specs

2007-07-10T16:21:00.000-05:00

My optometrist rocks. I've always been particular (ok, I'm fussy and picky) about my eyesight. Years ago another optometrist told me "you just want better than perfect vision". He was right, though he mainly was trying to get me to settle for the best that he could do. Not that he wasn't competent, but the technology at that time wasn't able to give me what I wanted.

When I moved to the city where I currently live, I crossed that threshold where my arms were continually shrinking whenever I held a book or newspaper. Eventually I concluded that age is "just a number", and succumbed to progressive focal length (aka "no-line bifocal") lenses. I got them at a "doc-in-a-box" chain, and I was pretty happy. The technicians warned me that it might take me some time to get used to them, and to be especially careful negotiating stairs until I was comfortable with them. Well, that took about 15 seconds, so I was a happy camper.

For awhile. The problem was, I was used to wearing contact lenses (rigid gas permeable or RGP), which gave me better acuity than spectacles. Plus, focusing a camera is more difficult with glasses for most people. I did the best I could until one of the temple pieces of my specs broke for the second time and couldn't be replaced. (Frame manufacturers build to the planned obsolescence/product churn model.) At this point I wanted to get rid of reading glasses when I wore my single-vision contacts.

So I went to a different eyedoc-in-the-box chain to see about progressive contact lenses. The assembly-line optometrist supplied me with single-vision soft contacts after stating that I wouldn't like multi-focal contacts. I believe he backed this up by quoting a statistic that only 20% of people can wear them or get on with them. Huh. Wonder where he got that statistic and by the way, 20% of what? If it's 20% of people who tried them and the only people who try them are brave souls who ignore an optometrist's opinions, then well ...

So those soft contacts didn't really do much for me. They were not as good as RGPs with a good script, and I decided I didn't like be pushed around by a snot-nose optometrist of a faceless corporate Eye-Mart. (No, it wasn't Wal-Mart, but it was the same mentality.) So I went back and demanded to get a trial pair of progressive contacts, which he grudgingly supplied.

Those are not "monocular" lenses wherein one lens is corrected for distance, the other for close focus. Each lens is truly progressive additive just like eyeglasses. Once they arrived and I tried them I knew this could work for me. The script wasn't quite right (thank you very much, Mr. + with-a-tailwind-optometry-graduate), and once again the resolution wasn't up to my standards because these were soft, not RGP. But now I knew I was on to something. So, I got a new pair of spectacles dispensed from another optometrist. I wasn't giving the dork any more of my money, and I chose a decent titanium frame.

So this is a really long way of leading up to my long-overdue visit to Tina Reeves, who runs a small optometry shop, and had come highly recommended. It was a recommendation I had ignored for a long time, figuring I couldn't afford her. But by now I wanted someone who really knew there stuff, someone who had a chance of getting me close to perfection.

First of all, did I say "my optometrist rocks"? Oh yeah, I did. Well, she does. First off, she got me a good script. I mean really, really good. I got some progressive RGP contacts and I was knocked out by how well they worked. People who say they don't work, or who say "I can't wear those" are wrong on the first count, and maybe wrong on the second. Some people can't wear RGPs, but for the life of me I can't understand it. Apparently there is something about tear production and/or the shape of the cornea ... I don't know. But I'm willing to be that a huge portion of people who think they can't wear them have never had a good fitting. While my insurance covered a good portion of my expense and my flexible spending benefit covered the rest, it was worth every penny, insurance or not.

Now I had confidence, and the next year when my script changed a bit, I got new contact lenses and my spectacles upgraded to the new script. But having kept up in her field, Tina could now source new RGP lens material that was easier to keep clean and wore longer without "gunking up". So reason #2 to stick with someone who really knows her shit, er stuff. (I kept the old pai of contacts for backup, which came in handy.)

The following year I upgraded to some really stylish Calvin Klein "frameless" frames (huh?), which make me look oh so suave... with good anti-reflective coating. These are the lightest most comfortable frames I've had, and they improve my looks, which is pretty easy. (Actually, I think it's pretty hard, in the sense that I think only a total redo of my face could actually do the job.)

Earlier this year, but well before my annual exam was due, Tina sent me an email about iZon lenses. The prospect of "high definition" vision drove me nuts, primarily because it was months before my insurance would kick in for the next exam and dispensing coverage. Aaargh! In the meantime, I figured out what these folks are doing. Their machine uses lasers to map the surface of each eye. It is the same wavefront technology that is used to guide Lasik and PRK keratometry, aka "laser surgery", to permanently correct ones vision. Only instead of reshaping your cornea with surgery, a custom lens is created for each eye that goes beyond the traditional script that corrects for power, astigmatism, etc. A thin-film polymer "lens" is created that is sandwiched between two layers of the lens material. Or at least, this is what I could deduce from my reading and Googling.

For months I anticipated the day, June 15 to be exact! that I could visit Tina and stick my face into the machine and have my eyes mapped with laser precision. Not that I needed an iPrint to create the excitement of a visit to Tina. Hell, Tina is such a joy to visit that I'd get an exam every day if I could. Who could want more than a rockin' rally car driver who loves her patients and exercises the highest degree of craft and knowledge to satisfy their vision care needs?

When I got my iPrint, it showed my right eye had a high degree of spherical, coma and trefoil aberration. The left eye had more moderate levels. This explained that while my old script was quite good (correction for 20/15 vision and excellent correction for astigmatism and presbyopia), my wife could still read street and highway signs yards before I could. Which, of course, made me seethe with optical jealousy. No matter how good the "normal" correction, those other nasty aberrations were not corrected with the precision of fine Leica or Zeiss glass ... even though one pair of my spectacles actually does have Zeiss material for the lenses.

Naturally, I ordered the iZon lenses for my Calvin Klein frames ... progressive additive power and multi-coating are included for the extra $100. But the big problem was THE WAIT. "Four to six weeks", the optician stated. The lenses are ground by a lab in San Diego, so my frames had to be shipped there, the lenses ground, returned etc.

Yet it is less than one month and as of today I now wear these new lenses. I have to admit, my first reaction was a bit of a let-down. Somehow the nose pads had been adjusted way too narrow, so they didn't sit right. The optician adjusted that, but once I got home, I decided the specs sit to high, so I need to go back.

More than that, I didn't see a shocking difference right away. For the first time in days, I had worn my contacts, and by the time I hit the optometrist at about 4:15, my eyeballs had adjusted to those, and it takes time for them to adjust back.

But after a few hours, and some fiddling with positioning, I began to see the difference. Sitting in the back yard and reading, I occasionally looked up to see what the world looks like. And gradually, I could see the difference. Yes, everything seems sharper. Colours are cleaner and purer, but not in an over-the-top rendering that is the bane of much of digital imaging. And as the natural light waned and the LED patio lights became more prominent ... even after a couple of gin-and-tonics I could really see the difference. It is not just the resolution, not just the absence of halos, smearing and flare. What struck me was the smooth tonal gradation that was just ... well, so natural. Some of the party lights we have are small LEDs that are surrounded by a paper-lantern type of shade. Looking at these lights carefully, there is no flare or smearing from the LED itself, and the gradation of the light transmitted through the shade material is just what it is... it is easy to visually define with the iZon lenses. I find it difficult to describe it in words. I can only compare it to a finely crafted b&w photograph, say Agfa APX100 film, 120 format, negatives carefully processed in Rodinal 1:100 so that micro-tonality is preserved throughout the entire brightness range. It's funny that I have seen this in good prints, but I don't think I've really seen it "live".

So, it's off to Tina to have the specs readjusted to sit properly on my face. Then off to Eastman House to see the Ansel Adams exhibit again. I saw it last weekend and was really thrilled. But now I'm really going to see it.

Oh, and I'm going to take more pictures. I have a feeling my prints and final files for display may change a bit. At least I hope so.

Public Market, Rochester NY June 2007

2007-06-24T18:35:00.000-05:00

The Internal Audience

2007-06-06T18:59:00.001-05:00

I get a kick out of pulling out cameras that are older than the person to whom I am showing them. The reactions are entertaining, but surprisingly (at least it might be surprising to a lot of people,) the reaction is often "Wow, that's so cool!" Given my age, it's at least possible that they are humouring me, and it's also possible that since I am a support resource for many of them they want to insure I give them good service, so they feign their delight. But I don't think so much ... the designs and craftsmanship are classic and solid. Today's tiny pocket digicams don't have heft and solidity, and the larger DSLRs are so plastic and cold.

But there is another factor. Over on RFF, we have noticed a real influx of younger photographers and new photo enthusiasts who have moved over not only to film shooting, but in amazing numbers to mechanical or "simple" electronically controlled cameras. These are people who have at best a vague notion of film, and certainly have grown up with digital cameras as the only photo capture device they knew, or at the very least they desired a "good" digital camera because of the marketing and word-of-mouth hype.

So why are they turning to film cameras, and to rangefinders, of all things? I think one answer is in how current products are designed and implemented. The New York Times has a great article on "feature creep" and the "internal audience syndrome", which plagues marketing and engineering departments.

A still camera is a pretty simple device. It is intended to capture a moment and a composition to a sensitive material or subsystem so that the resulting image can be reproduced for any number of purposes. The physics dictate a lens opening, an exposure duration and some means of transferring the captured image to other media.

Figuring out the exposure duration and lens opening size (aperture) takes some knowledge, so a light meter is used to help. In truth, exposures can be calculated in one's head if the sensitivity of the capture medium is known. Interior and night lighting is more difficult, since our eyes are so adaptable to lower light levels and there is little or no reference point to the sun's intensity.

Most cameras with even moderately sophisticated internal metering systems do a very good job of evaluating the required exposure, and when a scene has "tricky" lighting, a minimally knowledgeable photographer can compensate for the meter which has been fooled.

But in an effort to relieve snap-shooters of having to know anything about exposure rules, manufacturers have tried to design logic via electronics and more sophisticated light measurement techniques to do the work of the human brain. Some efforts have been very successful, but funnily enough it's not simply the newest systems that are the best. The Yashica rangefinder models such as the GSN had metering systems that were, by all accounts, hardly ever fooled, yet those cameras were produced in the 1960s and 1970s.

So when my friend DOF posted about his plan to purchase an Olympus SW-710 because of its rugged, waterproof construction, the quality of the images and such, one commenter advised he reconsider because of a published "bad review". Ooops! If you know DOF, you know he does his homework. I'm sure he'll make that camera dance.

My needs are a bit different. If I am forced to go digital, or choose to do so, I want:

A smallish yet rugged, metal-bodied camera
Rangefinder focusing; if I must have a dSLR, then manual focusing must be straighforward, positive and precise.
A viewfinder that is the equal of a Leica or the Olympus 35SP, or an Olympus OM-1
Small, compact prime lenses with fast prime choices
As little automation as possible
An interface that presents a minimal number of controls that are analog in presentation and operation. Multiple, nested menus are NOT acceptable

Guess I'll be waiting a long, long time. Suits don't understand real utility.

"Just the facts, ma'am"

2007-06-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Facts can be slippery things. Well, actually "real" facts are not slippery at all, but getting to the facts can be difficult, not least when the "facts" are statistical in nature.

Canada's Public Safety Minister, Stockwell Day (aka "Doris") has responded to Ontario's request for a federal ban on handguns by arguing, as quoted in The Toronto Star, that availability of handguns aren't the real problem. Part of his argument:

'"In jurisdictions that have eliminated or tried to eliminate, to ban handguns – the United Kingdom, Ireland, other jurisdictions – in fact crime with guns has unfortunately gone up," Day said.'

Whenever public officials or pundits make these kinds of statements, I am suspicious. Actually, given the track record of other conservative government officials (read: Cheney, Bush, Rummy, Rice, etc.,), I now automatically assume the true is probably exact opposite or at least wildly different.

" There was a 16 per cent drop in the number of firearms offences in the United Kingdom in 2006 compared with the previous year, according to figures from Britain's Home Office. Injuries related to gun crimes also fell while fatalities rose slightly."

Apparently the UK handgun ban was introduced in 1997, and there was some variation in gun crime incidents ... steady some years, up for a couple of years, now down. Well duh, such a ban would not change things overnight; we are talking about a policy that will take years to evaluate for its effect. And no one argues that availability of handguns (or not) is the sole "answer" to the problem. All sane, rational people will admit that gun violence is complex, with multiple causes and influences. Day is correct in that addressing the issue of smuggling of illegal weapons into Canada is certainly of major importance.

In addition, Stock refers to more than one jurisdiction where crime increased, yet cites only one reference. Wanna bet if he were asked to cite a few more countries he would be stammering?

But outlawing handguns, which have no purpose other than to shoot another person or for target practice, is obviously a logical action. It will give more power to law enforcement, gradually change public attitude and eventually reduce the number of handguns in circulation. To argue that fewer handguns will increase handgun crime and shootings is laughably ridiculous.

Personally I am sick to death of the "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" mantra. Give it a rest ... that isn't even imaginative.

Hey Stock, is that a handgun in your wetsuit, or are you just happy to see me?

What we need are ministers and other officials who really know things and are not talking puppets.

Scotland Should be Free

2007-05-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, it has been forever since the last entry. I am working on selling off a passle of photo gear to fund the acquisition of a film scanner, most likely the Nikon Coolscan V. Once that is accomplished, I can work on a large backlog of negatives and slides to be posted here, on flickr and RFF, etc.

In the meantime, tonight I am watching the election results in Scotland, where it currently appears that the Scottish National Party (SNP) have significant gains and may form the majority in the Scottish Parliament.

As a party whose major policy plank is Scottish Independence, I am quite pleased, as I believe Scottish independence is a desirable development.

All the returns are not yet in, but I am hopeful, and congratulate the SNP on the results so far.

Slainte!

The Newest 3rd World Country

2007-02-18T10:43:00.000-05:00

We usually think of countries emerging from "3rd world" status. But obviously countries, as a result of a series of events and mishaps, can devolve into that status. And we usually think of 3rd world status as primarily economic condition, with bad government and corruption as secondary conditions. In reality, of course, the situation is often the reverse: decline into economic failure is caused by bad government, corruption, etc.

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I watched Hacking Democracy, an HBO production that left me at once angry, despairing, disgusted and again angry. Yes, I have known about the problems with electronic voting systems in general, and the serious issues with Deibold in particular. But before watching Hacking Democracy, I didn't really know the details, I didn't know how shocking the situation is. And it's not just Diebold; Velousia county in Florida clearly demonstrated that the rot goes all the way to the core of your electoral systems and personnel.

Now I know which country is the latest to "achieve" 3rd world status.

The Russians Came

2007-02-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

... and left us a gift.

I remember when Fed and Zorki cameras were at least mentioned in Modern Photography or Popular Photography (gee, I really miss Modern) as pathetic alternatives to a Leica or a Contax. OK, they didn't use the word pathetic, but the idea was there. The knock against Soviet photographic equipment was its reliability issues. I.e., make sure your camera was made on a Wednesday, else it was too vodka-soaked to be useful.

There was some merit to that, but it wasn't the whole story. Through my membership at Rangfinder Forum, I have gained a new appreciation with FSU (Former Soviet Union) photo gear. Until recently, however, it was an academic appreciation. Then someone sold me a Mamiya 1000DTL camera with 50mm Mamiya lens, and a Carl Zeiss Jena 135/f3.5 lens as a bonus (made in East Germany during the soviet era) ... the CZJ is a VERY sharp lens:

This shot was form the CZJ mounted with an M42 adapter onto an OM-1n. That setup doesn't allow for infinity focus, only close focus (e.g., "macro) shots. The CZJ 135/3.5 has pretty close focusing anyway, so this is a pretty useful rig, albeit requiring stopdown metering.

As a result of the close focus and large aperture, this shot shows very limited depth of field. But what is in focus is wicked sharp.

Next, I acquired a 58mm/f2 Helios lens, also in M42 (Practica/Pentax) screw mount. My friend Gene Wilburn (Harbourlight on flickr) had posted some shots with this lens that really impressed me. It turns out a co-worker had one that he considered spare, so he gave it to me. Whoo hoo!

One freezing Sunday in January I went out to the High Falls district in Rochester and made a few shots, mounted on the aforementioned Mamiya-Sekor 1000DTL. Most shots were either wide-open or near full aperture. I wanted to see how sharp it was at maximum aperture, as well as gauge the "bokeh", i.e. the characteristics of the out of focus areas.

Some of the blurriness in the last shot is from the long exposure combined with falling sleet. My butt got wet on this shoot.

Film was a private label of Agfa Vista 200. Sadly, Agfa no longer manufactures photographic film. This particular emulsion was a real winner.

The Industar 61 is perhaps an even better lens (albeit slower at f/2.8), so I think I'll have to get one of those, too.

Hillary's Chances

2007-02-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

My friend Decrepit Old Fool (DOF) recently blogged about why he is not enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton as a candidate for the Democratic nomination. This was in response to a private email I had sent him asking why, in a previous post, he had used the word "Ugh" in connection with Hillary as a candidate.

I thought his blog post was thoughtful and pretty interesting. I think it fairly sums up the feelings of a lot of people, at least those who are not irrationally rabid about Ms. Clinton. (Naturally, some of the regulars on DOF's blog chimed in with toss-offs about Hillary. They are mild in comparison to what is to come from the loonie right fringe, of course, but they were "entertaining" nonetheless.)

However, I wanted to respond, with this proviso: I am not supporting Hillary. First of all, I think it is far too early (for me at least) to choose a candidate. There has been no real dialogue, much less actual debate among the Democratic hopefuls. I have promised myself that I will be deliberate and thoughtful before making a personal choice. As if anyone cares.

So, a few highlights from DOF's post, with my comments...

"I didn’t appreciate Bill enough while he was in office, but Bush cured me of it."

Right. Pretty much same here. I did like Bill all along, though from time to time I had some doubts regarding policy. (The blue dress incident was a total non-issue to me. Anyone who truly believes the affair rose to the level of impeachment is, IMO, either totally lacking in understanding of the constitution or an outright idiot. Flame on, right wing.)

My suggestion here is that Hillary may really surprise some people, too. Just as so many underestimated her husband, thinking he only won on charisma, don't count out Hillary because she lacks that charisma and warmth. FWIW, my opinion is that she does have some of those characteristics in person. No I haven't met her, but reports from those who have met her/know her indicate she's different in person, it's her people who are remote, aloof, etc. Yes, she has chosen those people, so I fault her there. But still, I do not regard the public media as my lens of choice for critical evaluation. I simply suggest we listen to what she says, and dispense with everything else, at least as much as possible.

Further down DOF writes: "You can make a very strong case that voters always go for the more charismatic candidate regardless of ideology. Bill Clinton has it - he could work around almost any gaffe or misdeed. Hillary does not, and her candidacy virtually guarantees a Republican president in ‘08. I do believe Hillary is smart enough to realize this, which in my mind makes her candidacy self-indulgent and unprincipled. "

I disagree completely. Judging what Hillary does or does not realize is somewhat arrogant, IMO.

Overall I'm understanding of the "no charisma/warmth" POV, but can't award any points, especially in light of the latter judgment.

"But Hillary’s vote for the Iraq war seems unprincipled."

Oooh, dangerous ground here. Based on this, we'll have to eliminate just about every candidate, Republican or Democrat. I agree that I never bought into the administration's justifications for the war. But being a legislator at such a time is way different. Would I prefer someone who actually voted against the authorization bill? Absolutely. Do I judge? No; not my moccasins. I give DOF half a point here, I guess; he did say "She would probably make a halfway good president, at least compared to the current one, but we can do better."

"Then there’s economics: her husband understands the profit motive, and so does Al Gore. They regard taxes and regulations as necessary things, but they also recognize that capitalism is pulling this wagon, and to keep it well fed. What about Hillary?

“I want to take those profits, and I want to put them into a strategic energy fund...”"

DOF goes on to make the point that such statements hand Republicans ammunition ... they will re-run the words "I want to take those profits" over and over. Well DUH. Finally someone who says it like it is. If the American people are that f-ing stupid to fall for yet more Republican smear tactics and lies, then they deserve the President they elect."

I recently received a "joke" email (from a relative who knows I'm a liberal, yet!) that had a photo of a KFC store whose sign denigrated Hillary based on her thighs. In the text of the email, i.e. not part of the actual "joke", was the admonition "Even if you're a Democrat, you have to admit this is funny." No, it's not funny. When serious political discourse, the choice of the leader of the most potent military force in the world (at this point) degenerates to mean, sexist attacks, it is not funny. I am so tired of attacks (by either side), of meanness, of disrespect, that sometimes it physically hurts.

But beyond that, I have to hope that any Democratic nominee will be able to rise above those attacks; respond in a timely fashion (unlike Kerry), yes, but speak to the real issues, to what is important.

Yes, sliding all the burden of the cost of carbon production solely to the corporations is not the right tactic. But I am reasonably certain that is not Hillary's only plank in her energy platform. More than that, though, is you have to start somewhere, and corporations are a huge part of the production of our carbon burden. Competition and innovation will make sure the cost of becoming more environmentally responsible is not simply passed on to the consumer. Sorry, but that is an old, tired and wrong argument. It is the bleating of the right wing that claims to be "conservative" yet wants to live off the benefit of what amounts to a subsidy. "We produce products in a dirty manner, you the consumer pay the price, thanks to government abandoning their responsibility to protect the common good." If we used the argument of the cost just being passed on to the consumer to prevent regulation of environmental concerns, we'd still be using freon for air conditioning.

I'll grudgingly grant 1/4 point here. I am tempted to go a whole 1/2 point, but I'm not feeling magnanimous.

"So what about Obama? He is a constitutional scholar, he respects the conservative world view, he has charisma, he knows history, and he is able to hold his temper under extreme provocation. In other news, I recently found out he smokes cigarettes, which moves him up a notch in my book. Illogical as it sounds, I don’t trust people who appear saintly."

Well, this is a problem. I sort of share this lack of trust, as I've had a similar experience as DOF when it comes to "the saintly" in my life. But really, being quick to trust and being immediately cynical are the same problem, just opposite extremes. I will wait and see what Obama has to say about the issues. Yes, I have yet to dig into the detail on his website. So far, I'm not terribly impressed on energy. He favours an increase in use of E85 fuels. Ethanol as fuel is a net energy loss ... it requires the use of more energy to produce (read: oil) than it yields. The only way to achieve the use of more ethanol is through government subsidy.

Midwest farmers will love that, but it makes no sense in terms of energy. In addition to the input requirements, corn requires huge amounts of water, herbicides and pesticides to produce in industrial quantities. So it doesn't make any sense on other environmental grounds, either.

Obama also favours the development of "clean coal" technology. Huh? We've heard this drumbeat forever, it seems. Turning from one non-renewable source for another doesn't make any sense to me. And the issue of what is "clean" is complex enough, subject to statistical justification, that the average Joe will glaze over and say "Yeah, makes sense" even if it is black magic.

I see nothing in Obama's platform, as published on his website, that speaks to the environment in real terms. And it doesn't begin to address DOF's recommendation:

"Alternative energy research will benefit all Americans, so there’s a good case for all Americans paying for it, not just evil corporations"

The only time Americans will "get it" is when real conservation, real change becomes necessary.

So, does this make me anti-Obama? No. He has just started, I'm sure he will expand and fill out his position on issues. As for Hillary's website, it's pretty disappointing if you want to read position statements, her platform proposals. Apparently all such information is in the transcripts of speeches or in news articles and news releases. It's not very user friendly, IMO. (Oh, and by the way, I'm thinking Hillary is pretty educated on the Constitution as well. Before she was the First Lady, she gathered some pretty impressive credentials, including sitting as a staffer on the House Judiciary Committee that handled the impeachment of Richard M. Nixon.)

But still, I would encourage people to not come to conclusions about Hillary until the campaigns have worked their way through the course of debate, caucuses and primaries. And focus on what candidates say on the issues, not just judgment calls on what one infers about their motivation. That's always rocky ground.

Hillary is In

2007-01-20T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hillary Clinton is in. With Barak Obama set to make an official announcement on Feb. 11 in Springfield, IL (and as much as I respect Obama, I think that is just a shade too cute), Bill Richardson contemplating running, the Democratic race will take on a character unlike any other. The diversity of candidates will finally, finally reflect an "America" (actually, the United States of America ... there are several other countries in the Americas, and all their citizens are "Americans" in actuality) that has changed radically in the last 50 years. Yet this race will be the first to truly reflect those demographic and social changes.

As I stated in my blog submission on Mrs. Clinton's website (see below,) I believe the most important aspect of the upcoming campaign will be her ability to reach out and have a dialog amongst all the electorate. I am one of the rare few who are ambivalent about her candidacy, because while I share most of her views, most of her record and admire her intellect and work ethic, the ability to overcome divisiveness is perhaps as important as policy and legislative agenda.

First of all, I want to congratulate you for your conviction and determination that have led you to enter this race. Regardless of the outcome, I believe that the very presence of a woman of such qualification and experience, one who has a real chance to win, is very important to the U.S.

That said, I am one of the few who is, at this moment, ambivalent about a Hillary Clinton presidency. Mrs. Clinton, please make it a top priority to demonstrate how you can be a great President, not only in terms of policy and leadership, but in reaching out to and including those who strongly oppose you. While there will always be divisions among the body politic, we need someone with the strength and compassion to lead in spite of divisions, to not revile, marginalize nor denigrate those who strongly oppose.

I am US born, but as a young adult took out Canadian citizenship after living for a long time in southern Ontario. As a result of the trends in American politics and society (starting with the Vietnam war ... and no, I was not a draft dodger,) I now consider myself a Canadian first. I sincerely hope that the dialog resulting from your campaigning, from the national discussion which is so vital at this time, restores my faith in the United States.

Old (some) glass on a modern digital camera

2006-11-27T23:43:00.000-05:00

Lenses made for film cameras are not always optimal for digital cameras, or at least the theory goes. One contributor on Rangefinder Forum did an interesting comparison of four different 50mm lenses on the Epson R-D1, a digital rangefinder camera which takes lenses made for the Leica M mount.

The lenses were Cosina Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1.5, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 50mm f1.2 and Canon 50mm f0.95. In most cases, the Canon 0.95 was the best, in my eyes and given the conditions of the test. This is quite astonishing for a lens first marketed in 1961.

I'd be quite pleased to have the R-D1 as a digital camera. It makes nice images, it's b&w mode is remarkable, and it (mostly) meets my requirements for camera design. That said, it is not inexpensive, even if you can get a refurb directly from Epson at roughly 50% off. In addition, Epson QC and customer support for the R-D1 is problematic.

So this proves I'm not totally anti-digital. If money were no object, I'd have an R-D1 and some nice Canon ... or Leica ... or Zeiss glass.

Yet another "anti-digital" rant.

2006-11-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

Over on Decrepit Old Fool, I posted this mini-rant (copied below) about digital cameras. This post was prompted by skimming and then posting in response to the Stupid Evil Bastard entry about choosing a digital camera. Here's my DOF comment:

I registered at SEB just so I could post a (fairly mild) “digital sux” rant. :D

Zuiko glass is great, but I’m now hankering for some Leica glass and a http://cameraquest.com/VCBT.htm. Is that just not the coolest looking rig you’ve ever seen? Hey NikCanon, why can’t you design cameras that look and feel so good that I am drawn to them, want to just pick ‘em up and GO.

Leica has done it with the M8. Despite some significant technical issues and Leica fumbling the launch of the camera, it could set a new standard for digital photography. Now we need a follow-on (Cosina Voigtlander? Zeiss?) that will make available a stellar but more “popularly priced” digital camera that will make Canon, Nikon, Fuji and even Olympus sweat.

If Maitani were still at work, it would be a done deal. That’s the sadness to me. There are no more real visionaries designing cameras. I know that’s a bit of hyperbole, but it’s how I feel.

DOF and some others will probably tell me to "give it a rest", but I don't care.

In a positive vein, both Fuji and Kodak have introduced some new films, OK, at least they're reformulated. Kodak re-did their Portra emulsions, and Fuji has re-introduced Velvia 50 Professional. Kodak offered free samples of the Portra on their website. They didn't publicize the promotion, but when word got out they had 33,000 people sign up. Limited to US distribution, their expected response was 22,000. Some folks got 35mm instead of 120, and vice versa, and are whining about it. I got two rolls of each, so I'm fine, but even if they had got it wrong, I wouldn't complain about getting free film from a company that is apparently abandoning film. Or at least, the CEO wants to, but somehow Mary Jane Hellyer sneaked in some R&D to improve the products. Judging by the response from real photographers, she knows something Antonio Perez doesn't.

OK, I'm not, deep down, anti-digital. The two technologies are just different, and analog/film photography has about a 100 year lead on digital. The people driving digital imaging seem to me to be non-photo marketing types. Say what you will about Kodak, but for years there were a lot of Kodakers who were committed to image quality and advancing photography as an important social endeavor. Yeah, yeah, they still had marketing types who got their 2 cents in, and were burdened by more layers of middle management than an onion.

And they certainly weren't the holy grail in all areas. I remember when they really screwed up black & white papers. Their initial move to resin coated papers and the cut in silver content during the mid-70s lost me. I went to Ilford for most of my b&w material and stayed there with the exception of Tri-X for film. And I discovered Agfa transparency films, along with Agfapan/APX 100 b&w film. Agfachrome was, for me, better than any Kodak colour slide film except for Kodachrome. But Agfa is gone, and Kodak, Ilford & Fuji remain.

So for now I applaud Kodak for paying at least some attention to film. I'd say Mary Jane has more balls than Antonio.

Non-D PDA

2006-09-12T18:25:00.000-05:00

Or: How I Unwittingly Joined a Trend

My friend DOF has been waiting for this post, since he wants to do a send-up on Moleskine notebooks. Uh, thanks, I think. Actually, DOF had been kind enough, when I had emailed him about my first Moleskine acquisition, to point me to a few websites, including the Moleskinerie blog, which focuses on Moleskine "hacks". Even if I hadn't already become fond of my small reporter Moleskine, the very thought of the techno term "hack" in the context of such a retro, even anti-techy object such as the Moleskine made me smile, and cemented my affection.

As I visited the links that DOF had sent, and found more, I discovered that use of Moleskines was something of a phenomenon, with lots of web and blog attention. Like any trend that is noted on the web, there will be satire, send-ups and downright derision. I'm not a trendy person by nature, but if I am to be lumped into this group, so be it; I'll even enjoy the more humourous characterizations.

As I began to use the Moleskine, I found it a useful tool for organizing myself. A typical organizer such as Day Runner, TimeText (are they still around?), Day Timer and others has a specific structure that may or may not represent my needs, my way of thinking and working. Most of them tend to be bulky because the publisher tries to cram in every type organizing funciton they can.

Add to that they are usually ugly, made of cheap materials that are not a pleasure to use. While the market may be somewhat price competitive, the cheapness of the cover, closures and especially paper make them no bargain in my book.

So the most appealing aspect of a Moleskine is that it is available in a variety of sizes, formats, types of paper, and is a complete blank page (pun intended) unless you really want one of the purpose-made books such as a calendar or address book. It yours to design and build as you see fit.

And the materials are first rate. Oh, you can find a journal with a nicer cover or binding, maybe more luxurious paper, etc., although the paper used in a Moleskine is quite nice and a pleasure to the touch. But for the modest price (yes, you can buy cheaper blank books, but they are ... cheap), the combination of utility and tactility is just right for me.

My first Moleskine was the small-size reporter model; it has blank pages and the binding is at the top, so it flips open from the top. In fact, though, I didn't use it much as I contemplated just how I wanted to organize it.

Actually, the delay worked out well. One weekend in mid-July I was camping with my wife and two other families and I absent-mindedly left open the front windows and sunroof of my car. Yup, it poured that night. And poured. And then it rained some more. We were safe and dry in our tent, and it was actually a pleasant storm to experience. Only the next morning did I discover the cost of my failure to close up the vehicle. Everything dried out pretty well, but the Moleskine was a loss. It was swollen more than twice its size, and it was evident it would never recover enough to be used.

The only valuable content was the signatures of some Toronto area Rangefinderforum.com members. We had met in late June in Port Credit, and I had everyone sign. So I've saved that page and the page with the "RFF made me do it!" entry. RFF, and the Toronto members in particular, have meant a lot to me.

Once I replaced the reporter Moleskine, I read through the hacks on the web, and fairly quickly gained an idea of how I would modify my Moleskine to suit my own life. I ended up using Post-It tabs and flags to help divide it into sections. Then it was simply a matter of deciding what subjects or categories were both important and persistent. Once I determined those, the rest was easy.

Now it is a daily companion. Some days I use it a lot, others not at all. But it doesn't require batteries or start-up time. Paper is nicer to use than plastic and a glowing screen. And I seem to like using a pencil or gel pen better than a stylus. It is my Personal Analog Assistant.

Note: The lead photo was made using a Konica C35 with Auto-up (aka, closeup) adapter, on Eckerd (aka Fuji) 200 film, procssed and scanned by "my current" mini-lab to high-res TIFF. I have found drugstore mini-labs to give variable results with respect to processing and scanning. So I am now spending a bit more (actually, about 50% more) to get consistent quality from a stand-alone, independent lab. Once I get a scanner of my own, I'll be able to do my own scans and have the lab do develop-only.

It was listed as a "lecture"

2006-09-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

Images so powerful and compelling that the added intensity of sounds, poetry and music drives me to silence.

I wrote those notes after the first half of a multi-media presentation by Larry Towell, a Magnum photographer, and Mike Stevens. As part of the "Wish You Were Here" lecture series at George Eastman House, the format was certainly not lecture.

The first half presented images of The Mennonites, followed by photos of "the disappeareds" in Guatamala, then Palestine. All were accompanied by poetry and verse, bones and other percussion instruments all by Towell, and Stevens on harmonica and bell.

My gut was pulled out of me. The Mennonite photos were touching and moving, but the Guatemala photos were beyond moving. Near despair combined with rage are the only words that I can muster, and they are not adequate.

Thankfully, the second half was far different. Titled "The World from My Front Porch", the series of photos and songs composed by Towell document family life in and around his farm. Towell plays guitar and has a good voice, but as his accompanist apparently had remarked, only knows one key. And his melodies are all roughly similar, though pleasant. The songs are, to me, distinctly Canadian, being rooted in the land and with a rural flavour that is reminiscent of other Canadian songwriters of the folk genre.

My emotions were twisted and wrenched again, however. It all made me incredibly homesick, and my eyes welled up. I thanked him afteward for "making me cry", and we had a short chat about it.

Right now I am drained and affected. As one of his poems elucidated, Guatemalans died for cheap cotton dresses in North American stores.

Time running out?

2006-08-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

When the trees move north...

An article in the Toronto Star by Cameron Smith does an excellent job of both setting global warming into context and illuminating the complexities of environmental changes that occur when the ecosystem is disturbed.

Most people wouldn't think that an annual average temperature increase of, say, 1.2 deg Celsius is significant. But in environmental terms it IS significant. It reminds me of a co-op student who once worked with me. The big environmental topic of the time was destruction of the Amazon rain forest, and the impact on oxygen levels. Being a business student, Glen (I can't recall if that was actually his name), had done some research and discovered that the Amazon rainforest "only" contributed 6% of the the world's oxygen supply. From this he reasoned that even if all the Amazonian rainforest were destroyed, world oxygen levels would have minimal impact, and it could recover.

Well, it ain't that simple, Glen. Complexity is what escapes most of the global warming deniers. And W is the leader of that pack. Maybe his Crawford ranch will experience spontaneous combustion.

Using a hammer to drive a screw

2006-07-24T22:38:00.000-05:00

Close-ups with a rangefinder

Fixed-lens rangefinder cameras aren't really made for macro or close-up work. Most, as is the case with my various Olympus RFs, have a lens in the normal range (40-55mm focal length) and their closest focus is about 1 meter. Compare that to a normal lens on a 35mm SLR which typically can focus down to about 1/2 meter, and there's a difference of an order of magnitude.

As I told one friend, "if it's hard to do I figured I should try". Another interpretation of that, of course is, "Sheesh, why not use an SLR ... you've only got SEVERAL ... not to mention bellows and lenses more suited to macro." Like I said...

Well, the results were pretty pleasing. A slower speed film would have been somewhat better, IMO, but Fuji NPH 400 Professional did really well.

How I did it...

I used an Olympus MCON 40, which is a macro/close-up lens intended for use on some of Olympus' digital cameras. I attached it to the 35 SP by using a 49-55 mm step-up ring; the 35 SP's diameter for threaded attachments is 49mm, and the MCON 40 has a 55mm filter thread.

With the camera empty of film and the MCON 40 mounted, I opened the back of the camera. I had cut a piece of frosted acetate into a 24x36mm rectangle (actually, a tiny bit larger), which served as a type of "ground glass" for focusing. The frosted side was mounted toward the lens, i.e. the smooth side facing the back of the camera.

Moving the shutter speed dial to the 'B' setting and the aperture to f1.7, the lens set at closest focus and in bright sunlight, I moved the camera forward and backward until an object came in sharp focus. Upon achieving focus, I measured the distance from the film plane to the object with a ruler.

The above procedure gave me the correct focus distance for this particular camera. It's not an easy process, but once determined, I can use the ruler to set camera/subject distance with this camera/close-up lens combination. This does not compensate for parallax, which is the phenomenon of the image not be centred in the lens' field of view because the rangefinder mechanism is off centre from the lens axis. (Parallax is only of concern at close focusing distances.) To compensate fo parallax, I simply approximate the offset by eyeballing it. To calculate the actual offset would require more exacting experiments, which I'm not really interested in doing.

The Nature of Scientific Work

2006-07-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

My major in university was biology, with a minor in chemistry. Initially I had been interested in going on to medical school, but for various reasons decided against that. As it turns out, my various jobs and career development meant that while I never direclty worked in either field, training in the scientific method has always been a benefit. Through various stints in information technology areas, being able to create hypotheses, valid test plans and being able to analyze results has been an enormous advantage. For example, my current gig as a sales engineer supporting sales reps seeling Voice-over-IP (VoIP) systems requires that I quickly evaluate assumptions, proposed "solutions" (both as conceived by sales reps and prospective customers,) based on my company's system architecture and the true capabilities of network protocols, etc. (Note: Most of the time both sales reps and prospects are wrong.)

The nature of scientific rigor is that experimentation where variables are controlled are at the vary heart of fact-finding and the development of accepted scientific theory. Experiments, hypotheses and formulae are open to peer review, that is, repetition and testing by other parties.

All this seems very simple, yet it is subject to complexities in the "real world".

A vocal group who either deny global warming is a real phenomenon or who at the very least dismiss the human contribution to climate change invariably declare (normally in breathless, apoplectic language) that nothing is "proven", that there has been no definitive scientific proof of global warming as a trend attributable to human activity.

The problem with this, of course, is how do you conduct a controlled experiment with planet Earth as the subject? Since there is only one Earth available for observation, and we obviously cannot control all variables so as to change only one and observe the results, we can never "prove", to the satisfaction of those who deny global warming that it truly exists or is a human-influcenced/induced problem.

The proper response to this, of course, is that the question, while in the scientific realm, is not one that can be subjected to controlled observation and experimentation. In other words, it is a different, if not special, case of scientific study, just as there are special cases in all realms of study.

This is a long way of introducing a brilliant article by Showey Yazdanian, a Torontonian who is currently a PhD student at Cornell University. If I were like Bill O'Reilly and the other neo-con know-it-alls, I would tell them to "shut up". But I'm not, and I believe in open discussion, so recommend the article to you to provoke thoughtful dialogue.

No one can deny we only have one home .... one planet ... and that how we handle this issue is of enormous import.

Breaking in Brikka

2006-06-07T21:35:00.000-05:00

The previous entry gave a brief rundown of receiving the Brikka and running some "break-in" pots. It's pretty obvious that I was excited, but I did want to expand on getting familiar with it.

As I wrote earlier, the Bialetti Brikka 2-cup had to be ordered from Italy. It ordered May 22, was shipped May 29 and the first delivery attempt was June 4. Whoa, that's pretty fast for the actual delivery time. Not sure of the delay in actually shipping it out, but it's not of great concern.

The packaging was a cardboad box of medium strength and durability. You may be able to detect that the right side was somewhat crushed. It didn't affect the product, and I certainly understnad that being delivered through the postal system, gentle handling is not guaranteed.

No duty or taxes were assessed, which didn't particularly surprise me, but was certainly welcome.

The packing material was crumpled newspaper. Since the Brikka itself was in its retail box, this proved to be adequate but not ideal. Given the rough handling in transit, newspaper for packing material didn't give much protection; the retail box had a tear in it, which may be the result of less than ideal packing material. Without a sturdy inner box, the Brikka itself might have been marred if not damaged.

You can't see the tear damage in this shot. But it is an attractive box. I'm storing it away for safekeeping; I don't throw out boxes for appliances.

The 2-cup Brikka is positively tiny. It's a little jewel, IMO. Next to the Turkish grinder, it looks so diminutive you wonder if the amount of café that can be made is worth the effort. More on that later.

The instruction leaflet is packed in the box. Opening up the lid (note the lid has a window in it, something I was not expecting in the 2-cup version,) you find the water measuring cup, a notice tag and a very small quick guide to the use of the Brikka.

While this quick guide has a cute format, what caught my eye was under the "Absolutely Don't Forget" heading. Keep the lid open? That certainly isn't intuitive, but when you follow this guidline you see there isn't any danger of hot, black liquid shooting out and inflicting 2nd degree burns on your face. So this begs the question, why the window in the lid? Granted you need to close the lid when you pour the coffee, but at that point the see-through window doesn't seem to have much utility. Any ideas?

After pouring the correct amount of water into the boil pot, grinding some beans and loading them into the grounds filter, I screwed the receiving chamber onto the boil pot, placed the unit onto the stove and adjusted the flame to not extend beyond the circumferance of the pot. Now it was wait time. The instruction leaflet indicates prep time is 3-4 minutes. I didn't keep exact time, after all I was anxious plus focused on capturing creama production with the camera.

And there it is ... the "pre-produciton run" of Brikka coffee ... with crema indeed! Some comments online have stated that Brikka crema will dissipate quickly, especially if not poured immediately. I didn't notice the former, but the may dissipate quickly in the cup. I say may because I don't own any espresso cups, so poured into a normal-sized coffee cup. My theory is that enlarged surface area of the relatively large diameter of cup will hasten crema dissipation. OK, so there's something I didn't think of when buying the Brikka, grinder, etc.... you really do need proper cups!

The next two preps produced roughly the same results, so the Brikka is now officially prepared for full production. I've purchased some beans from Finger Lakes Coffee, and tomorrow morning will be the first "real" pot. Due to a recent kitchen reno, I couldn't find the sugar when I ran the condition runs, so even if I'd had good beans for that, any taste experience would have been less than optimal. Some people may take their espresso naked (I don't add anything to "regular" coffee), but not me!

The only drawback so far is that amount of cafe produced will be enough for one person. When I have guests, this will be a problem, since the pot has to cool down before you unscrew the two parts. If only the 4-cup model made crema as well as the 2-cupper. Oh well, such are the laws of physics; but so far the results justify the choice. If Santa were to bring me a 4-cup model, I certainly could compare results...

We have crema!

2006-06-06T21:34:00.000-05:00

My pot arrived today. Well, the postman rang once yesterday but no one was home, so I picked it up today. More film at 11, but it is a cute little unit! The photos show the first stage of crema production, then the at the end stage.

I had to run it at 3/4 capacity 3 times to "break it in", so I used whatever beans I had lying around, which were not espresso/Italian roast. It DOES produce crema, and the flavour is pretty good for break-in period and ordinary beans. I think I lucked out setting the grinder burrs correctly.

I'll post a follow-up with details and will include more photos. So far, a success!

Coffee Unhappiness

2006-05-18T16:55:00.000-05:00

Ruined by a Good Espresso Experience

Late last month I visited my best friend, who had purchased a quality burr coffee grinder and a home espresso machine. I have no idea what models they were. All I know is that it was a marvelous experience to have a superb capuccino in the morning or espresso at any time.

So now I am on a mission to transform my coffee-making at home. The Bodum French press I am using is OK, but I don't have the technique dialed in quite yet. But even more than that, I need to have fresh-roasted beans, grind them properly, and probably replace the Bodum, probably with a Chemex for "regular" coffee and to take to work in the Gott, and a pot to make moka. Bialetti is the name in what are called "moka pots". No, it's not espresso, but a true, high quality espresso machine is outside my means at this time. And despite its eccentricies, I would gravitate to La Pavoni, if for no other reason than its sheer beauty and its heritage. The "problem" with La Pavoni is that it is finicky. Using it is a real art, requiring training and practice. I would want hands-on mentoring, and finding that in my small city might be a challenge. And they're not cheap, though they're not the most costly either.

In addition, the Bialetti Brikka 2-cup, which is what I have decided to acquire, is not distributed into this country, so I am trying to find a vendor who can ship to me. The 2-cup is reported to be better than the 4-cup due to the volume of the boil pot, so I won't bother with the easily available 4-cup model. And the 2-cup is on indefinite backorder ... grrrrr. My goal is to have it in place by June 16, when the aforementioned best friend visits here, but it looks like the chances of that are slim.

So for now I will visit the local roasters and select a roaster that is reliable and quality-oriented; I'm planning on purchasing beans as often as twice a week to insure freshness. Eventually I will get a proper grinder, but there's some stick-handling with the household minister of finance to be done first.

Ciao, baby.

Six Years In

2006-05-14T18:05:00.000-05:00

After six years of Shrub's absolutely brialliant reign his "wooden" opponent of the 2000 election is looking not only better, (as I always knew him to be) but a helluva lot funnier.

The world is now less secure, the middle east is more fragile, North America is no less dependent on fossil fuel, global warming as a result of fossil fuel dependence, is not only becoming more evident but also more intractable due to the Bush administration's ostrich strategy. The debt load for future generations increases minute-by-minute, political discourse is no longer true discourse, and the politics of sleaze and corruption rules. Thanks a lot fundamentalist right wing. We will not allow you to prevail.

GOTT it?

2006-04-12T05:57:00.000-05:00

Due to a power failure at my place of work Friday 3/31, deskside appliances such as my little coffee maker were banned. After considering several options, I decided to simply make coffee at home in the morning and fill a Gott vacuum bottle which I had purchased back in oh, the mid 1980s. I hadn't used it in years, and had to retrieve it from the garage, clean it up, etc.

So Monday morning I make the coffee, fill the Gott, and put it near the front door by my briefcase. Naturally, I don't "see" it when I leave, lending yet more empirical evidence to the understanding that we see with our brains, not our eyes.

So Tuesday morning comes along, and I check the Gott to asses the temperature of the coffee. As I open the stopper, there is a "tshish" as a vacuum is broken, and steam (OK, water vapour) escapes. Hallelujah! I take a sip, and no, it's not truly that hot, but it would be drinkable by some people (such as my wife) who don't like their hot beverages actually hot. So I take it to work and simply nuke my coffee cup when I need to.

Now will someone please tell me why Rubbermaid, who purchased Gott many years ago, discontinued this vacuum bottle? There are still Gott-branded products such as water coolers, etc. But these excellent bottles seem to have been killed off by Rubbermaid. Last year I saw a smaller one at an estate sale and bought it for 50 cents. I haven't used it yet, but whenever I see a Gott I want to buy it. My recent re-introduction to the Gott's tremendous insulating properties "force" me to act on that desire.

Great Sig Line

2006-03-21T18:51:00.000-05:00

Seen on RFF:

"Every real Black&White picture has silver lining."

Pixels just don't do it, do they?

Scans re-Redux

2006-03-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

A Re-do and Some Adjustments

Since I don't have enough experience with scanning chromes I wasn't sure, in light of my disappointment with a "professional" lab's job of scanning some Kodachrome and Elitechrome slides, how high my expectations should be. So I finally took my lunch hour one day and visited a firm that specializes in digital processing and printing. I spent about 15 minutes with the technician, explaining that I just wanted my expectations to be set properly both with initial scan quality and what could be done in post-processing.

What I learned was that I should expect more/better, and that some post-processing adjustments are pretty easy. The latter I picked up from simply observing how he manipulted the that images we opened up; it was like a free mini-lesson in Photoshop.

So at home I practiced some post-processing adjustment and came up with the results posted here.

Atget at George Eastman House

2006-03-05T20:48:00.000-05:00

Atget & Rauschenberg

I don't know if this exhibit will travel anywhere other than the International Center of Photography, but if it does come to a space near you, you should see it.

I saw it for the first time at GEH yesterday, and will return next week, and likely again. This is not because the exhibit is so absorbing or brilliant. It is wonderful, especially as GEH plays classicly Parisian music in the exhibit hall and that creates a wonderful atmosphere that is, for me, transporting.

Rather, I will return because I cannot seem to absorb such an exhibit in one visit. I have observed this each time I have been to GEH. Sometimes the presentation and lighting have been irritating (the recent Weston exhibit was disappointing in some respects), but as a lover of photographs, I can't seem to truly appreciate exhibits, especially large ones in just one visit. It is just too much visual information to process.

Rauschenberg's photos are very well seen and executed. Working to a very high level of craft with modern 35mm materials, each photo is visually precise and evocative.

But the Atget prints ... well, they transported me. Ignoring the 70-80 years of change in Paris between the Atget and Rauschenberg photos, Atget's choice of materials were brilliant. I have never before seen albumen prints, I don't think. Even in Atget's time, wet plates and albumen printing were "outdated", but he refused to use more modern materials. That was a brilliant choice. The long exposure times necessary for the wet plates dictated much of Atget's choices, and the nature of those negatives combined with the tonal scale of albumen makes Atget's Paris glow. Given that much of Atget's intent seemed to preserve a Paris that he saw as passing all too quickly, how fortunate he not only chose as he did, but that the images survive to convey not only the Paris of the period, but the atmosphere, the feeling of a great city emerging as well as passing by.

Yesterday there was to be an exhibit tour conducted in French. Sadly, no one knew anything about the tour, and the tour guide never showed. I was really disappointed; being around French in this town is almost non-existant. But the music and exhibit itself made it all better, and there are tours in French scheduled for additional Saturdays, so I will call tomorrow to make sure it was just a one-time mix-up.

Atget links:

http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/eugene.htm
http://www.eastman.org/fm/atget/htmlsrc/INDEX.HTML

Tower 51 Cleans up its Act

2006-02-26T19:11:00.000-05:00

Cleaning the Tower 51 Viewfinder

Yesterday evening I disassembled the top plate of the Tower 51. As I referenced in an earlier post, the viewfinder of this camera was pretty dirty ... well, filthy is a better word ... so I finally got around to it. Cleaning all the glass surfaces took some time, plus when I removed the accessory shoe (which wasn't really necessary) the assembly that held the RF and VF window glass fell out. The glass elements had to be thoroughly cleaned and re-glued to the bracket (I used epoxy), and reassembling the whole lot caused some frustration until I figured out the order.

I had taken macro shots of the process with my digicam, so getting all the top pieces back together this morning was pretty easy, but the advance assembly caused me some problems, and I had to put everything together twice. It's functional, but not Leica buttery-smooth. Hell, it's not even as smooth as the Olympus 35 SPs.

BUT, the view of the world is so much better now. While the viewfinder is not nearly as bright as the best RFs, it is surprisingly easy to focus. It gives a 1:1 view, I think, and aligning the rangefinder patch is positive.

Since this is a meterless camera, I figured it's perfect for shooting in really dim light, with Kodak Tri-X pushed to E.I. 12,800, as per merciful's post over on RFF. Yikes, that looks yummy! Don't expect results from my foray into that world soon ... I don't process often, and right now stripping wallpaper in the kitchen is my main occupation.

EDIT: I worked on the film advance some more, and it's better. Still rough, and it takes two strokes to full advance and cock the shutter. Not sure what's wrong, but it's functional.

Sunday morning coffee

2006-02-19T12:58:00.000-05:00

The morning was sunny and bright, so I headed to Tim's with the Saturday Toronto Star for coffee, muffin and a leisurely read before diving into painting and stripping of wallpaper.

Finally some weather fit for slow film, so I had loaded up the SP with Ilford Pan F+, which will be processed in Rodinal at 1:100. I want to establish a workflow for a slow film (ASA 50) such as Pan F+ to take advantage of its ability to render a long tonal scale, but maintain contrast. I am rating the film at ASA 40 to ensure shadow detail is retained.
Yeah, I realize it's now "ISO", not ASA. but I'm old enough to cling to the past and be curmudgeonly as well.

Alas, work at home called, so no shooting today.

The Muslim cartoon flap

2006-02-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

Over on Decrepit Old Fool, I commented on DOF's "Eat My Shorts" entry regarding the fallout from the publishing and republishing of the cartoon in a Danish and other papers. Some good points are made by DOF, who is a friend of mine. In fact, he's such a good friend that I can tell him to "eat my shorts" when I disagree with him, and we laugh together. DOF is a gun-totin', meat eatin' libertarian (well, I guess he owns a gun, I know he certainly isn't very enamored of gun control,) but he is a smart dude. He's sometimes wrong about stuff that that I'm always right about :) but then, I could be wrong about that.

Anyway, GUYK posted a reply which I think is a reply to my comments, so I've asked for some clarification from him. We'll see if he answers, but from just glancing at his blog, I don't think we'll see eye-to-eye on a lot.

Tower 51

2006-01-25T20:19:00.000-05:00

Back in October I bought a Tower 51, a 35mm rangefinder camera sold through Sears in 1954. Sears didn't make any cameras, but had various manufacturers, such as Nicca, Olympus, Mamiya, etc. supplied cameras that were branded "Tower". The Tower 51 was made by Iloca, a German manufacturer. Supposedly the Tower 51 was a re-badging of the Iloca Rapid B, which is also referenced on Karen Nakamura's wonderful site. But my Tower 51 does not have the film advance on the left, as with the Rapid B, rather it is in the "normal" spot, on the right. Matt Denton's Tower 51 is the left-handed version, so there were at least two versions of the Tower 51.

This camera arrived in pretty good condition except that the viewfinder is very dirty. And the film advance feels so rough that I couldn't be sure the film was advancing properly. I threw a roll of Kodak B&W C41 (black and white film but processed in the same chemistry as colour negative film) just to test it. It took me quite a while to get the film developed and scanned to CD, and I wasn't too hopeful.

But, Shazaam! the results were quite good! As a meterless camera, I had to either use an external meter or choose my exposure by the "Sunny 16" rule. Next step is to do a CLA myself. I'm not going to send it out for a cost of $50-80, as I only paid $10 plus shipping. If I screw it up, I'm not out much, but I DO love the lens, a Steinheil Cassar 50mm/f2.8 which seems to be wicked sharp.

For Miss K: Here is a shot of the advance mechanism under the top plate. I have more photos of the disassembly procedure. Let me know if you want me to send them to you.

Scans Redux

2006-01-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I picked up the rework of the scans I mentioned what, 5 weeks ago? Seems longer, so with the holidays I guess I shouldn't be too judgmental.

I'll post some JPGs here later; the results are better, but not totally satisfying. Sharpness is a lot better, for the most part, but dynamic range hasn't been retained. One of the contributors to the APUG forum is a photographic engineer and used to work for a major photographic manufactuer here where I live. I asked him if he knew of a better local source for scans. He hasn't been happy either, so bought his own scanner. I'll end up doing the same, but given my "standards" (does that sound self-absorbed?), it won't be cheap. So I'll need to wait until the wallet recovers from the HDTV purchase.

Thoughts on Digital Photography from a Film Luddite

2006-01-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

I recently exchanged an email with my good friend Decrepitoldfool (aka DOF) regarding the state of analog/film cameras in the past year. I forwarded some thoughts by Tom Abrahamsson on the year past, in which he celebrated the release of many new lenses for rangefinder cameras, and the release of new RF bodies from Cosina and none other than Zeiss, the new Zeiss Ikon using the Leica M mount.

DOF replied that he was working on a blog entry on film vs. digital from a broader perspective. This prompted me to put together some of my thoughts in reply. Partly I was simply expressing myself as thoughts flowed, and partly I was happy to give DOF food for thought.

So, here is what I wrote. I'm not trying to steal his thunder, and I don't want to spark a film vs. digital debate. If anything, I see the advantages of digital being thwarted by inferior industrial design. OK, it's not just inferior, it's just plain stupid and idiotic.

Look at what Perez said about film and current digital cameras; he envisions image capture in glasses, jewelry, anything wearable. Huh? Technically achievable, but apart from spies, what consumers really want it? Most consumers can't operate the arcane digital interfaces that Kodak and others are giving them. 80-90% of a camera's capability are wrapped in a shround of menu/symbol mystery. Just when the interface is understood, a totally new generation/paradigm comes along. And... How will you frame image in your engagement-ring-cam?

What drove photography both as a hobby and as a profession was the stability of the controls interface that dovetailed with advances in lenses (the camera itself advanced only insigificantly) and film technology. I could pick up my OM-1 and transfer the knowledge of its control to an older Asahiflex IIa (pre Pentax/Spotmatic) or to a newer OM-2 or OM-4. Or a Leica, etc.

Now if I own a Kodak digicam and switch to a Fuji, Canon, Olympus, etc., it is much harder to re-learn the interface. Not impossible, but relatively fewer will do so than with film, and the remainder will use their cameras less. Given that the consumer digicam industry is built on product churn and repurchasing relatively frequently (the upward trend in total sales can't continue forever), this is a stupid thing. When equipment sales plateau, consumable revenue becomes even more important. Can the manufacturers entice users to regularly consume paper and ink to print their own images? I'm not so sure the current state of printing technology is acceptable, both in terms of ease of production and cost. My lord, I'd much rather have casual snaps printed at the corner grocery store on good quality Fuji or Kodak materials.

Cameraphones are "the thing" right now, but I haven't quite figured out how the component manufacturers can make good money with them. The real revenue goes to to the wireless service providers. If Zeiss provides lenses for a Nokia cameraphone, does Zeiss get a percentage on every image transmitted? Does Kodak get a cut on each transmission by virtue of supplying the sensor in a Motorola phone?

Interesting times, but my Olympus 35 SPs have a spotmeter and my head can do matrix metering calculations. Betcha I can't get that in a cameraphone.

Another problem is that photofinishers have been moribund in providing good service and being innovative. I'd post some ideas here, but they might actually make sense and be valuable. Hmmm.

Recreating a Room

2006-01-16T23:38:00.000-05:00

A move (local only) is in the near future, so getting the house de-cluttered (Lord, where DID all the stuff come from?), painted and repaired is absolutely necessary. This weekend the living room got painted and a lot of unnecessary shit was either tossed or boxed up. New paint (from a pale blue to Glidden's "Water Chestnut") went on the walls, and all the furniture was totally rearranged so that the room was "opened up". The new TV was installed on a coffee table and placed into a corner, with the components on the shelf below. Looks cool.

So, what about the TV? I'm happy. The only problems I had were:

1. It appeared that the component inputs weren't working.

2. I tried to get ahold of Syntax support to no avail. Their technical support call queue kicks you out after a very few minutes, forcing you to select an option from the IVR. If you go to the operator, you're often as not on hold and then have to back to the IVR for another ineffectual selection.

Of course, it didn't occur to me that I was calling during CES, the holy grail of trade shows for a company in this market. Once I realized this, I sort of understood what was going on, BUT the operator (once I got ahold of her) could have explained.

Email didn't work very well either, and I resorted to multiple email submissions and then emailing the PR contact at the parent company, which I found via a company press release.

Bottom line, I got the problem resolved, but it took far too long. Minus for customer service.

As far as performance goes, however, I am very happy. Image quality is very good, with the factory defaults being quite good. Yes, I've tweaked it a bit, but all the settings are easy to get to via the menu system. I do not have any high def content yet (another story), but SD images are not bad for an LCD/fixed pitch display which has to convert.

The most surprising discovery is the audio performance. I don't expect very good sound on a TV. No, it's not true HiFi, but it's actually quite good for a TV monitor. There are quite a few effect settings, most of which (all but one) are hokey, but with no EQ setting or on "pop", sound quality is better than average by far ... at least in my experience. The audio out is fixed, meaning you need to control volume via whatever amp/receiver it is feeding. It makes sense, but since I can't program my satellite receiver remote to control our current receiver, it's a PITA having to have 3 remotes.

I hope to have HD content by Saturday evening for HNIC. That's when I'll be able to better judge video performance, especially how it handles motion. The set has "Super in Plane Switching" (Super IPS) to minimize smear of fast-moving images such as a puck on the ice.

All-in-all, so far I can recommend this set. Time will tell regarding reliability, but the build quality seems very high, on a par with major brand names.

New TV

2006-01-07T18:55:00.000-05:00

I've been lusting after an HDTV for a couple of years now. I'd been living with a Sony 27" stereo dinosaur since about 1996. It was pretty spiffy at the time, having S Video input, and in 2001 I bought a JVC SVHS tape deck to compliment it and the satellite receiver which had S-video output.

Everything was was fine until I got married and we made the decision to use live in her house and sell mine. The layout of the living room is long and narrow, with a fireplace at one end and the main entrance at the other. So the only place to put the TV is along a long wall, with a sofa against the opposite wall.

The result is a crowded room if you have a coffee table in front of the couch. That 27" TV isn't big by today's standards, but a CRT set is deep, so the footprint isn't really good for a smaller room.

The solution? Flat screen of course! I used this argument on my wife for a long time ... "It will save space!" I repeated over and over. Plus, I had upgraded my satellite receiver to a High Def model, largely because the slightly larger dish that came with it meant I might improve my signal strength.

I have been watching reviews and comments on the Olevia brand of LCD TVs from Syntax Groups for almost two years. An "off" brand, it was cheaper by a wide margin that competing brands with similar specs. But I was wary, of course. And even the lower price point was still too for quite some time.

On Christmas day, however, I saw that the LT32HVE model was on sale on radioshack.com and had a $300 rebate. I was wary of having something this expensive shipped to my house. Obviously I'd want to be there to receive it, but arranging that would be something of a hassle. So I waited to the next day and went to a local Radio Shack to see if they had stock. They don't stock TVs that large, but they did say I could have it shipped there as long as I picked it up promptly, as they had limited storage.

So I went home and ordered it. A 10% off offer was no longer available :( but it was still a good deal.

It arrived on the January 3. Today I received a DVI cable to use as the connection from the receiver and the picture is closer to optimal than with S-video. But I don't have high def programming downloaded to the receiver yet (another story), so I can't really give a valid review. Once I get that sorted, I'll post some comments. One thing I have noticed is that the control of colour temp is very good. Watching HDIC right now, the flesh tones are right on, reds are not over saturated; the balance is very good.

Hockey Day in Canada (HDIC)

2006-01-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

One of my other passions is hockey. The Stanley Cup is the epitome of a championship ... four rounds, 7 games each round, at the end of a grueling 82-game regular schedule. Men play hurt, come up huge, skate on pure grit and adrenalin.

But the real story of hockey is not just the NHL, the AHL, or other pro leagues. It is the Junior teams and those "below". A couple of years ago, driving along highway 18 in January in western New York, I passed a bunch of kids playing pond hockey in a farmer's field. Classic across Canada, more rare in the US. It was a magical moment for me, just seeing those kids out there having pure fun.

On January 7th, CBC will broadcast Hockey Day in Canada (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hdic2006/), a celebration of the game at the grassroots level. I'll sit in front of my new LCD TV, eating homemade chipotle chili, watching kids in Stephenville, Newfoundland play the game and adore heroes like Wendell Clark, Don Cherry and Darcy Tucker. And there will be other stories all across Canada that will literally bring tears to my eyes. I'll record it to DVD (I've recorded past years' broadcasts on tape; now I'm "with it") so I can cry again later.

This stuff is purity of life.

Scan Disappointment

2005-12-06T21:21:00.000-05:00

Monday I picked up the CD of the K64 and some E6 scans. Very disappointing. Most of the K64 scans were very soft (unsharp, but beyond the typical digital softness), density was off (overall level was too low), etc. Some of the E6 scans are very sub-par as well. Back I go tomorrow to have many of them redone.

I realize there's a difference between scanning negatives and slides. But this is a QC issue. A professional lab shouldn't let such work out the door.

Hence, no new images to post yet.

More retro/film shots coming

2005-12-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

Or .... Mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

The shots in the "Recent Photos" entry were, as I stated, made on Fuji Reala 100 film, a colour negative product. In the other Olympus 35SP, I had Kodachrome 64 loaded. Kodachrome is my favourite film, all-time. Kodachrome 25 was the best, but it is sadly gone. Except rolls or "bricks" of rolls that have been frozen and are now offered for sale on eBay for more money than I can justify without having a professional assignment to pay for it.

So now only Kodachrome 64 and Kodachrome 200 are left, and who knows how long those will last. Kodak may announce its demise at any time. Living only a couple of miles from the Yellow Father's head office, I should be down there daily with a picket sign stating "Save film! (well, at least K64, and PLEASE bring back Panatomic X)". Yeah, like the new Kodak CEO, who came over from that photo giant HP will smile and NOT have me removed from the front of their premises.

Anyway, some of the K64 shots are at the lab being scanned, so I'll be able to post a comparison with the first (the horizontal) shot. Most people will yawn, but when I look at an original Kodachrome slide (not a scanned image on a computer), I get real calm. OMmmmmm.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-27T21:09:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving. American style. In the Midwest.

We did it again. Went to the Midwest to spend a couple of days surrounding Murkin Thanksgiving with family. Now, I love my parents. And I love my siblings and their children. But love doesn't mean complete comfort level, of course. For a person who grew up in the "heartland" of the Excited States but who is now extremely uncomfortable with the values and lifestyle thereof, I sometimes question why I return and subject myself to discomfort.

The easy answer, of course, is that my parents aren't getting any younger. . . not that I am, either, of course. And while it means a lot to them for us to visit from time to time (especially since long travel isn't something they do as often as they used to,) seeing them and spending some time before they move on is important to me.

So what about the discomfort? Where does it come from? First, the what.

Attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of some of my family members. Some things really cause me pain. Illiberal, judgmental attitudes ... the negative point-of-view that is either explicit or lurking, waiting in the wings. Writing people totally off because they hold views or have lifestyles that are very different.

But why should this bother me so much? In point of fact, I've been somewhat depressed as a result since returning. I even had to get out of the house today to get some solitude. It had nothing to do with my wife, I just needed some solitude.

The why, I think, has to do with attachment. In Buddhist belief and understanding, attachment is at the root of suffering. Or at least, that's my understanding. I have only the most rudimentary understanding of Buddhism, but it is an understanding I will be seeking to expand.

Basically, it seems that being attached to a thing or being, in either a positive or negative way, is what can cause suffering. It is being invested in that object or being such that its nature or actions have a power over one, thus having a type of control.

As a final note, my spiritual views are informed by what I have called "Native American spirituality". I'm not sure that's an accurate or even appropriate term. I see great synergy between that perspective and Buddhism. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Recent Photos

2005-11-19T21:25:00.000-05:00

In my first entry, I noted that I had started back on the road to photo recovery. Recently I have used my two Olympus 35SP cameras to shoot Kodachrome 64 and some Fuji Reala 100. The former is, of course, a transparency or slide film, aka a "chrome". The latter is a fairly low speed (by current standards) colour print film.

The 35SP is a vintage 1969-73 camera. As a rangefinder (RF), you do not view through the lens, but rather through a viewfinder window on the back of the camera's top plate. Focusing is manual, via aligning two images together in a central RF "patch". In other words, doing this finds the range, or distance of your focus point. This is a time-honoured and very accurate way of focusing, provided the RF mechanism is aligned properly. (I had both my SPs undergo a CLA [Clean Lubricate Adjust], so they are both accurate, with spot-on meters and shutters.) This method is especially useful in low light. And because there is no mirror as is necessary with an SLR, there is less noise and vibration when an exposure is made. So RFs (e.g. Leica, Contax, the new Zeiss-Ikon [drool!] and a host of others) are great for street shooting, discrete situations, etc.

The 35SP has a fixed lens, i.e. it is not interchangeable, as with a Leica, Contax, or ZI. The lens is a really sharp 42mm f1.7 G. Zuiko. (The G signifies that it has 7 glass elements, G being the 7th letter of the English alphabet.) 42mm is about the perfect focal length in 35mm photography to approximate the human field of view without peripheral vision. For much of my work in the past I have preferred a 35mm focal length; the slightly wider perspective provides some extra context, and is similar to what you perceive with that peripheral vision that the 42 (or up to 50mm) does not.

But in the last year or two I've considered that the "normal" (42-50mm) focal length has its merits. The perspective is enough different to force you to see differently when composing. And the slightly longer focal length, combined with the fact that these normal or "standard" lenses usually come with a wider aperture that limits depth of field, makes for some versatility when you need to isolate the subject by ensuring that the background is pleasantly out of focus.

In addition, I consider it a really important practice to really master a piece of equipment. So I make a point of often going out with a camera and only one lens. I.e., if I go out with an SLR, I can take along any number of different lenses. Choice is good, but the discipline of not having the choice of "which lens do I use?" has its own merits. It forces you to truly see, not just use gear.

Years ago I pretty much mastered the 35mm lens and the 100mm lens. Too bad I didn't master the 50mm (or nearly 50mm), since those are often both technically wonderful and cheap. (35mm camera manufacturers have made more 50s than any other focal length. They got good at the optical formulae, and they got good a production efficiency. Olympus produced at least five differnet 50mm/f1.8 lenses for the OM series. Then there were several versions of the 50/f1.4, the 55/f1.2, the 50/f1.2, the 50/f2 macro, and the 50/f3.5 macro. All were at least very good lenses. Even the early 50mm/f1.8 F.Zuiko, the least well regarded, had its charms. Wide open it wasn't great, but with its single coating (versus multi-coating), it had a glow and colour signature that was unique in the family. Use it with black and white film at mid-apertures, and you get a classical look.

So, I'm back to concentrating on the standard focal length, and the 42mm on the SP is a compromise between the 50 and 35. Sure, I'll use a different lens when the situation demands it, such as a super-wide for a large group shot, a 100mm for a tighter portrait and/or better background separation. But I'm going to wear the standard lens around my neck for awhile and let it teach me.

That said, I've posted a couple of recent shots above, made with the Olympus 35SP (body #1), shot on Fuji Reala 100 print film. The lab scanned the shots to high resolution TIFF files, and I then downsized and supplied minimal sharpening in Photoshop. My PS skills aren't well-developed, but I think they look OK. Both were taken at Durand Eastman Park in Irondequoit, NY, 05 Nov 2005.

Why in the world am I doing this?

2005-11-18T19:46:00.000-05:00

Actually, I'm not entirely sure. And no, I'm not going to tell you exactly who I am, where I live, etc. Not that I am hiding anything, but it's just more fun this way. Besides, those who know me will figure out those bits right away; I guarantee there will be lots of hints from the get-go.

The executive summary: I need to remake my life, both physically and mentally because the way I am living is preventing me from doing a lot of the things I love.

In the past I have worked at several jobs/professions. One of those was as a professional photographer. I didn't do weddings or portraits. Weddings are too high pressure, and the portrait market was too cliché and boring. I did a lot of documentation and illustration work. Most of my income came from legal work, documenting personal injury cases. There was never any greusome work. Mostly I photographed traffic accident scenes well after the accident. Lines of sight, highway signage, etc.; these were things that would be needed as exhibits in a trial. Often I had to testify in court as to the veracity of the photos, how, when and where they were made, etc.

The pay was good, and it allowed me to do other work that didn't pay well or not at all, such as personal work. I was good at what I did, but not much of a self-promoter or business person, so I wasn't really making a living. I was stressed out and decided to quit photography as a business before I started hating the art of making pictures.

It was a good decision. My interest in photography has lain dormant for many years, but it has survied thanks to that decision. Some of the equipment that remains (I sold a lot of my gear) developed problems like fungus on lens elements, etc. So now that I have a desire to make pictures, to express myself creatively, I'm having to rebuild some of my inventory. That's not difficult thanks to a certain auction site on the internet. It just takes a bit of cash and some patience. (Actually, it is a bit more complicated since I discovered an email list of people who are owners of the particular brand of 35mm equipment I use. In addition to being a bunch of very good photographers, they are even better at "enabling" the addiction to the equipment, which is of extremely high quality. I really DO need all three speeds of the 28mm wideangle. But I can quit, anytime, I swear...)

A bit more difficult is the issue of the darkroom. My current digs don't really have a space that can easily be used for a darkroom. I have not warmed to digital workflow. I am not against it, but my primary interest in black & white, and the workflow for digital B&W just isn't as good as colour. But more importantly, I don't want to make the investment in learning digital printing techniques that meet my standards. I can be far more productive using the knowledge and skill I took so long to learn. New technique can come later.

What does this all have to do with the "executive summary"? Well, I'm out of shape. Like 75% or so of all western adults, you say.... so what? Well, I have a disadvantage to start with. Due to a disease I contracted in infancy, I pretty much lost the use of my left leg. As I grew up, my weight outgrew its ability to bear weight, so I had to start using a crutch. So my mobility is limited, but I've always been able to adapt to that. But the other consequence of effectively having only one leg is that extra weight is amplified. I don't know the amplification factor for physical effort, but there is an emotional dimension too. Fatigue can open the door to depression, even mild in nature. For an emotional eater (I am), that can set up a vicious circle. Add a heart attack (full recovery) that has diminished my ability to pump corpuscles, and you get the picture. Oh, and I am a bit of a foodie; I love to cook and have meals with really good wine. Our current kitchen (yes, I am married) is not an inviting workspace for me, so I don't cook as much as I used to. Which sets up the "need" to make food that is quick and easy to prepare. Not a recipe for weight control.

So, my mission is to get to where I need to be. How much overweight am I? I don't know exactly. I have a decent idea how much I weigh (I'll get on the scale in the next day or so and peg a starting point), and I can look up my ideal weight/BMI in some sort of chart. But I instinctively know that I need to target 11-13 kg. If I dropped 9 kg I know I'd feel very good. But I want to be in great shape, not just good enough. I want to be in the top 5% for my age, considering the limitations of my disability. I'd like to prove that by paddling my canoe (open, not kayak) across one of the great lakes that is just outside my door.

What I would like from anyone who might read my blog is a bit of support, and maybe some helpful hints on nutrition and conditioning. And this is a NO ATKINS ZONE, so if you want to promote that low-carb, high protein/fat approach, don't waste our time. One heart attack is enough, thank you very much.

Update: I began this post way back in February 2005, and it's now mid-November. Since that time, I've made good progress in getting my photographic life in shape. "New" old equipment, some of it quite sexy just to hold, a stash of film, and shooting semi-regularly and getting my "eye" back. Some of the gear has been CLA'd (Clean, Lubricate, Adjust) and even recovered with fresh, luxurious leather. Some is just as is but in perfectly useable condition (for example, a 28mm/f2.8 lens for $11 that works very well) some still needs TLC, such as a German rangefinder from 1954 that has a very dirty viewfinder but otherwise in wonderful condition. German glass is special!

Not so much progress on the weight, but I've started! I wasn't quite as bad as I thought, and I've dropped about 1.5 kg what I'd like to lose. The key is, I know I can do it, and I have started. The next part will be to start "working out" and getting better exercise. Part of that requires clearing out the big room in the basement so I can do some weight work. I've started, but ugh, there's a lot left.