Happy 4th of July!

Since I was working like hell on the 4th, I guess I'll wish everybody a happy BELATED 4th of July. I'm still going to enjoy one more day of the so-called holiday weekend and then get back to work - although I sent out about 40 emails, and 12 faxes today (Sunday)...

So, so, so - how do I think I could have enjoyed the holiday weekend more? Definitely more
alcohol - and more time. But it's great. Working for a great boss again is pretty fantastic.

The last major boss was deranged - and very lucky during certain times.

Working for myself is crazy at times and requires a lot of attention, but it beats working
for BB who thought the world of himself. The word 'rodent' can carry no comparison to him.

And now - back to a few more hours of work with my friend Photoshop.

Happy Birthday AGAIN!

This was a Happy Birthday message from all the friends at Willie's Ice House on FM 1960 (not a radio station) here in wonderful Houston, Texas. Yes we have heat, humidity and hurricanes, but we don't have snow, we don't have constant wind (like in Chicago) and we don't have idiot imported tribes as they do in Minnesota.

Since myself and my friends and associates have spent a HUGE amount of cash at Willie's, this special Birthday wish is really appreciated! We love every minute we spend there, and since it's become my own office in a beer bottle, I'll see y'all again really soon!

Happy Birthday!

Just a short post to wish my business associate Mitch a Happy Birthday!
As well as my long time friend, Rodger! Happy B-Day, buddy!

And me! Happy Birthday to all of us!
May we grow old (too late for that) and have the greatest of fun
in the years to come!

Megapixel & Resolution Reality

Today, I ran into a fellow photographer who ALSO paid a ton of money for a digital camera a number of years ago. He has the SONY DSC-F707 (5 megapixel camera) and was looking for advice on whether to keep it or get one of the 'new' cameras. The Carl Zeiss lens on his camera made me tell him no! No, keep it - it's the sharpest optical glass on the planet - and any 8,10 or 12 megapixel camera produced today wouldn't compete with the sharpness and resolution of that lens. The glass itself on the camera is about 1 inch in diameter - and it's in the lens that the image is first created.

He laughed at my answer - and told me that he had made a 15 x 30 (foot) image for the side of a truck with that camera - with that lens!

Him trading in or giving up on this camera for the luxury of saying "I have one of the new ones" isn't even close to being worth it. He'll get many more years of professional use out of this camera. The design is unique - it's the best optical glass made, and the lens ISN'T only about 4mm in diameter, like on the 'new' technology cameras.

He paid $1400 for it when it came out, but the quality of the images has been worth it!

Energizer "D" cells Exposed

Here is some interesting consumer information about the popular Energizer D batteries. It seems that everybody is out to make a quick buck, only some want it quicker. I use Kodak rechargeable batteries - they seem to last the longest in terms of shooting time in my digital cameras.

Energizer "D" Battery Exposed

Batteries and Sources

A good tip to get some great and useful AA batteries - make contact with your local Walmart/Walgreens/Target/CVS photolab and get them to save you some AA batteries from all the disposable cameras they process film from. These AA batteries are made in China - like everything else in the Western Hemisphere - but they'll work for a while.

If you use a disposable camera, before you drop it for processing - wind the film to the end, and pry the plastic housing open with a a flat screwdriver (that's what the photolabs use) and get the battery out. Save it - it's great for clocks, and even digital cameras. They don't last TOO long, but they're free.

So take the battery out! And put the roll of film in the envelope, and get your processing!

From Compaq to HP - Infestation Indeed!

This is an image shot with my first digital camera - an Olympus E-10. I still have the camera, but this shot of the Compaq Computer headquarters north of Houston, Texas is no more. As most know, it's been replaced by the Hewlett Packard brand name after a unique merger earlier this century. This image has nothing technical to show - except that things change. After the newly created HP corporation merged (bought out due to cranial cave-in - and pure, distilled greed of the CEOs at that time) a lot of good talent and people went away. Just poof - gone.

It's indeed a shame that one of the top headlines on cnn.com today was that their new portable printer really wasn't worth a damn.

"Hewlett-Packard recently released its Officejet H470 Mobile Series, an update to its line of portable inkjet printers. The models range from $224 to $314, which isn't cheap, considering the majority of home inkjets cost less than $100.

The print quality is also unsatisfactory, which wasn't a surprise but disappointing nonetheless."

It's great to see that HP's slogan is indeed changing from INVENT - to INFECT. They managed to infest a great company and remove the great people who loved it and built it, so any failures coming their way might be quite fair. Following the 'herd' might not be the best of strategies anymore.