They say that smell triggers the memory the best of any stimulation. I can think of a few memorable smells, but nothing reminds me more of very specific memories than sorting receipts. I remember the period in time, the group of friends I was hanging around at the time, so many different memories and emotions are brought up when sorting receipts. Like the time a friend and I went to the mall (a big thing to do when you live two hours away from the closest one) and were so crazy about Metal Gear Solid 2 that we each picked up a Solid Snake action figure from Software Etc... That's right Software Etc. not Gamestop. There was also the time that another friend and I went to Norde's Games and each bought a box of Magic the Gathering cards and took them back to his place and just tore through them, reading cards, rummaging through each other's spoils, being a bit disappointed by the condition of the brand new cards because a third of them were misaligned to the point to where you could nearly see the name of the next card on some of them.
With every bag of miscellaneous old receipts come the check stubs as well. I was able to piece together a comprehensive history of my grossly underpaid days at Pizza Hut. I was able to easily map my employment history through looking at my check stubs, even though I still don't know what happened to the ones from my days at Blockbuster. I even found my very first pay check, which totaled eight dollars and seventy cents. $8.70! For a person just starting out in the work force, that's a huge blow to the morale, having worked a week before receiving the paycheck, I remember muttering to the person next to me that I should just quit if the pay is gonna be like that. Then there are the random bits of memories that make their way into the bag as well. Such as a part of a label from an art piece that was submitted to the club I used to be a part of, a scribble on this receipt, a calculation on another, a warning of violation a friend I worked with wrote against me in jest that threatened to have my hands severed off as punishment.
To sort through receipts is really a sort of map of what a person's life is like. I will usually pick a receipt up off of the ground just to see what a person bought. They're never profound purchases though; gum, a bag of combos, a soft drink... I suppose that, in itself, shows something about the people who throw their receipts on the ground. The discarded receipts show me that they're horrible people for littering the ground and that they only throw down the small stuff. I'll probably never see a receipt for a 46" LCD Television lying on the ground. Maybe they feel that they're doing a service to the curious folks like me by doing it. I could live without it.
Seeing this history in a bag shows me how frivolous I seem to have been with my money. What if I hadn't bought that speaker system for my car that my neighbor helped me install or that collection of Magic the Gathering cards that I played regularly with a group of friends in college? Maybe I would be richer, but I wouldn't have all the memories.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Rote Goodbye.
I have worked at a few different places in my life. I started out as a short cook for Pizza Hut. One of the things they teach you is to be friendly by sending the customers out of the restaurant with a friendly good bye. A lot of my coworkers would send people off with the same line all of the time "Have a good day" whether it was day or night. This is how you can tell if your server is just going through the motions.
I didn't go with the same rote memory line and tried to pay attention to the time of day and even what season it was. Especially if it was near Christmas, I would wish the the customer a Merry Christmas on their way out, which in itself could spark a debate, but I did it simply as a friendly gesture.
For those of you who work in the service industry or in retail, if you do send people off with the "Have a good day" line every time an easy way around all this is to just say "Have a goodn" which is especially effective the south. But at least try to be more personable, people know when you're faking it.
I didn't go with the same rote memory line and tried to pay attention to the time of day and even what season it was. Especially if it was near Christmas, I would wish the the customer a Merry Christmas on their way out, which in itself could spark a debate, but I did it simply as a friendly gesture.
For those of you who work in the service industry or in retail, if you do send people off with the "Have a good day" line every time an easy way around all this is to just say "Have a goodn" which is especially effective the south. But at least try to be more personable, people know when you're faking it.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
EWJ Mighty Mugg III
I decided to split the mold down the side as opposed to cutting it into pieces as indicated with the yellow on the left.
Here is a photo of the sculpt after I extracted it from the mold. The latex seemed to soak up some of the oils in the clay slightly drying it out. It would still mold like clay, but I thought this a peculiar effect.
I then taped up the side and painted a layer of latex over the tape and the seam so resin wouldn't leak out.
Tada! Here is the cast I'll be using for my Mighty Mugg Custom.
Here is the first attempt at making a cast of the mold.
Detail.
Detailed detail.
Details.
Deets.
As you can see the result was less than spectacular. After discussing with my assistant what could have caused such catastrophe, we decided that not allowing time for the mold release agent to dry made the bubbles form. Had I properly used the agent, I probably wouldn't have had such a difficult time getting the cast out of the mold on the second try, but after some struggle I was able to get it out without destroying the mold.
Detail.
This was a great learning experience. This job is best done with help from another person if the mold isn't easy to work with. Since I had such an odd shape, and I did not take the time to make a brace that would allow me to properly pour the resin myself, my assistant held it while I poured and then we placed the mold in a cup stuffed with gift tissue to let it cure.
I was a bit sloppy with pouring the resin and I accidentally got resin all over my assistant's hands while she held the mold upright. She then waited for me to finish pouring (it starts to set in about 3 minutes) and the resin started to set on her hands. She spent the next hour washing her hands with dish detergent, lava soap, and nail polish remover to get the stuff off her hands and then another half an hour filing her nails.
Use rubber gloves! On the next try I used quite a bit less of the resin and my assistant wore gloves which she highly recommends as well. Because the resin cures so quickly it generates a lot of heat, which is another reason to wear gloves. After careful consideration my assistant and I decided it would be best to snip off the other end of EWJs head so that we could pour the resin in both sides, ensuring no bubbles would form in the narrow tip.
Now on to work on the Mighty Mugg's body, sanding the head, spraying with primer, and painting.
Here is a photo of the sculpt after I extracted it from the mold. The latex seemed to soak up some of the oils in the clay slightly drying it out. It would still mold like clay, but I thought this a peculiar effect.
I then taped up the side and painted a layer of latex over the tape and the seam so resin wouldn't leak out.
Tada! Here is the cast I'll be using for my Mighty Mugg Custom.
Here is the first attempt at making a cast of the mold.
Detail.
Detailed detail.
Details.
Deets.
As you can see the result was less than spectacular. After discussing with my assistant what could have caused such catastrophe, we decided that not allowing time for the mold release agent to dry made the bubbles form. Had I properly used the agent, I probably wouldn't have had such a difficult time getting the cast out of the mold on the second try, but after some struggle I was able to get it out without destroying the mold.
Detail.
This was a great learning experience. This job is best done with help from another person if the mold isn't easy to work with. Since I had such an odd shape, and I did not take the time to make a brace that would allow me to properly pour the resin myself, my assistant held it while I poured and then we placed the mold in a cup stuffed with gift tissue to let it cure.
I was a bit sloppy with pouring the resin and I accidentally got resin all over my assistant's hands while she held the mold upright. She then waited for me to finish pouring (it starts to set in about 3 minutes) and the resin started to set on her hands. She spent the next hour washing her hands with dish detergent, lava soap, and nail polish remover to get the stuff off her hands and then another half an hour filing her nails.
Use rubber gloves! On the next try I used quite a bit less of the resin and my assistant wore gloves which she highly recommends as well. Because the resin cures so quickly it generates a lot of heat, which is another reason to wear gloves. After careful consideration my assistant and I decided it would be best to snip off the other end of EWJs head so that we could pour the resin in both sides, ensuring no bubbles would form in the narrow tip.
Now on to work on the Mighty Mugg's body, sanding the head, spraying with primer, and painting.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Gift Box
I'm nothing like Martha Stewart, and I'm not one to tell someone how to wrap their gifts because I'm horrible at it. However I did discover a trick that allows you to use the boxes from gifts given the past Christmas without any confusion.
When I open a box and find that I got the same gift as last year, my mind immediately rattles off scenarios on what could have gone wrong, and then I open the box to find something completely different and I calm down. You would think that I would learn to expect seeing old boxes, but for some reason I haven't.
"What!? Another lamp!? Oh wait, cool."
Anyway, I feel that opening a gift to find a brightly colored and somewhat familiar looking box with something else inside is slightly unpleasant and can be remedied with the trick I'm about to show.
The trick is to simply turn the old box inside out so that the graphics of the old product are hidden inside the box and the brown inside of the box becomes the outside so that there is no possibility of confusion. As illustrated below:
Probalo solved.
When I open a box and find that I got the same gift as last year, my mind immediately rattles off scenarios on what could have gone wrong, and then I open the box to find something completely different and I calm down. You would think that I would learn to expect seeing old boxes, but for some reason I haven't.
"What!? Another lamp!? Oh wait, cool."
Anyway, I feel that opening a gift to find a brightly colored and somewhat familiar looking box with something else inside is slightly unpleasant and can be remedied with the trick I'm about to show.
The trick is to simply turn the old box inside out so that the graphics of the old product are hidden inside the box and the brown inside of the box becomes the outside so that there is no possibility of confusion. As illustrated below:
Probalo solved.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Comparative Picture Fun!
This is simply a light hearted look at the likenesses of people next to their cartoon counterparts. I mean no harm to anyone by posting these comparisons.
A Gelfling from The Dark Crystal.
Nitz from Undergrads.
A Doozer from Fraggle Rock.
Meg from Family Guy.
These just happen, I don't put any effort into searching for these, they just fall into my lap. In fact, I started them around 2001, so it will be a while before I have more. There was this one man in my home town that looked just like the G-Man from the Half-Life series but I was never able to get a photo of him, but maybe one day by happenstance I will get lucky enough to meet him again.
A Gelfling from The Dark Crystal.
Nitz from Undergrads.
A Doozer from Fraggle Rock.
Meg from Family Guy.
These just happen, I don't put any effort into searching for these, they just fall into my lap. In fact, I started them around 2001, so it will be a while before I have more. There was this one man in my home town that looked just like the G-Man from the Half-Life series but I was never able to get a photo of him, but maybe one day by happenstance I will get lucky enough to meet him again.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Timelapse and Geocaching Videos.
Bear with the ads on the videos, Revver.com pays me according to the number of views and how much the video spreads to host my video on their site and the money comes from the ads. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
Timelapse video of the county fair.
A video about geocaching.
Timelapse video of a lobster grow toy.
Ratings are a pretty important factor in getting the most views, the more good ratings the better so go to the links below and rate em would ya? There is a whole slew of ways to share the videos above by clicking on 'menu' in the video window. If you dig it, Digg it. I put the geocaching video on Digg myself.
You have to visit my Revver page to digg the videos.
In addition to the embedded videos above Vimeo is my favorite video site that I have uploaded these videos to. I just think it plays more smoothly and looks better. I also put them on youtube and metacafe.
Timelapse video of the county fair.
A video about geocaching.
Timelapse video of a lobster grow toy.
Ratings are a pretty important factor in getting the most views, the more good ratings the better so go to the links below and rate em would ya? There is a whole slew of ways to share the videos above by clicking on 'menu' in the video window. If you dig it, Digg it. I put the geocaching video on Digg myself.
You have to visit my Revver page to digg the videos.
In addition to the embedded videos above Vimeo is my favorite video site that I have uploaded these videos to. I just think it plays more smoothly and looks better. I also put them on youtube and metacafe.
Monday, December 1, 2008
EWJ Mighty Mugg II
As promised here are some photos of the Earth Worm Jim sculpt I did for the Mighty Mugg Custom.
The clay I used is a wax-based clay which means that it won't dry out. This particular batch was made by a fellow artist, but is very similar to Castilene in that you have to use a heating lamp in order to soften up the material enough to work with it. Once you get to the later stages of the sculpting process the cooled clay makes for a firmer surface that makes it easier to do fine detail work.
Some people use polymer clays, which are desirable because the clay doesn't dry out and can be baked on low heat to harden it solid when the sculpture is finished. However, baking the clay can make for a difficult time, depending on the intricacy of the sculpt, if planning to do molds and casts of the sculpture. When doing casting and molding, the clay is then no longer the finished product and is often destroyed when releasing it from the mold.
I decided to try the Castin' Craft Mold Builder and Mold Release, and Amazing Casting Resin on my first try with molding and casting a sculpture. The process is fairly straight forward. Mold Builder is basically a viscous liquid latex rubber that once painted on a sculpture dries to a yellow rubber coating.
The directions suggest doing ten coats of the Mold Builder and also suggests using Castin' Craft Resin spray on the clay to coat the sculpture before using the Mold Builder. I did not before I started using the Mold Builder but I think it will be alright anyway since I partially peeled the mold off with no trouble.
Here is what the EWJ sculpt looks like with the Mold Builder applied.
So the next question is which method would be best to extract the clay from the mold? Cut down the side? Or cut the mold in half and do two casts that I would have to glue together? Yet another question that I'll have to figure out later is, how do I attach the head to the mighty mugg body and to where it is sturdy and still does not touch the rim of the neck?
The clay I used is a wax-based clay which means that it won't dry out. This particular batch was made by a fellow artist, but is very similar to Castilene in that you have to use a heating lamp in order to soften up the material enough to work with it. Once you get to the later stages of the sculpting process the cooled clay makes for a firmer surface that makes it easier to do fine detail work.
Some people use polymer clays, which are desirable because the clay doesn't dry out and can be baked on low heat to harden it solid when the sculpture is finished. However, baking the clay can make for a difficult time, depending on the intricacy of the sculpt, if planning to do molds and casts of the sculpture. When doing casting and molding, the clay is then no longer the finished product and is often destroyed when releasing it from the mold.
I decided to try the Castin' Craft Mold Builder and Mold Release, and Amazing Casting Resin on my first try with molding and casting a sculpture. The process is fairly straight forward. Mold Builder is basically a viscous liquid latex rubber that once painted on a sculpture dries to a yellow rubber coating.
The directions suggest doing ten coats of the Mold Builder and also suggests using Castin' Craft Resin spray on the clay to coat the sculpture before using the Mold Builder. I did not before I started using the Mold Builder but I think it will be alright anyway since I partially peeled the mold off with no trouble.
Here is what the EWJ sculpt looks like with the Mold Builder applied.
So the next question is which method would be best to extract the clay from the mold? Cut down the side? Or cut the mold in half and do two casts that I would have to glue together? Yet another question that I'll have to figure out later is, how do I attach the head to the mighty mugg body and to where it is sturdy and still does not touch the rim of the neck?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Aliens Have Landed.
Meteor Landing Leaves Many Stunned.
I have been reading War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. This video seems appropriate. Just to be clear, I don't believe this is an alien spacecraft but this video does spark the imagination. This video makes me want to fly up to find the meteor myself! How often does a man find a real meteor?
I never have.
I have been reading War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. This video seems appropriate. Just to be clear, I don't believe this is an alien spacecraft but this video does spark the imagination. This video makes me want to fly up to find the meteor myself! How often does a man find a real meteor?
I never have.
Monday, November 10, 2008
EWJ Mighty Mugg
Since I am such a fan of Earthworm Jim I wanted to pay homage to him somehow. So I decided I would immortalize him in Mighty Mugg form, another thing I'm a huge fan of. Hasbro does sell blank Mighty Muggs but it's more expensive to get than buying a painted Mugg at a mega-mart because of shipping.
For the Earthworm Jim Mugg one thing was certain, I was going to have to take the head off of a Mighty Mugg in order to do a proper EWJ version. So I bought Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson).
Since I wanted to do a Gordon Freeman Mighty Mugg I bought a General Grievus figure since he comes with two light sabers, which could prove useful later on. After examining each of the muggs I found something unfavorable with the Gen. Grievus Mugg.
The head for this mugg seems to be made out of something similar to ping pong ball plastic. This would prove very difficult to take off since there's no give to such a hard plastic. Vinyl has plenty of give to it however and luckily Samuel L. Jackson's head is made out of Vinyl plastic. There is a way to tell the difference between the plastics each Mugg head is made out of although it may not be easy to do in the store. Please don't open the boxes in the store, there are collectors out there that like their boxes in pristine condition. If you look at the head closely you will probably be able to see a hint of a seam as highlighted above.
This should be a pretty good indicator that the mugg in question has a ping pong head. The other clue is that if you look closely enough, and I mean close, there is a little bit more texture to a vinyl head than a ping pong head. If you are lucky enough to happen across some loose Muggs at a flea market or someone's house, the easiest way to tell the difference is to peck on the head with a finger nail. The vinyl head has a duller sound to the harder plastic which has a sharper 'tick' sound to it.
Although there may be a few people out there who just long for a hernia, I would suggest not trying to pull it off straight out of the box. I was able to get the head off by pre-heating my kitchen oven to 150 degrees fahrenheit and then putting the figure in the oven on a pan for about 5-10 minutes. One has to be very careful in dealing with a kitchen oven, but by heating the Mighty Mugg up, the vinyl of the head is more malleable and so the head is easier to pry off. I feel that no more warning is due since people should know the Mighty Mugg will be hot when it comes out of the oven.
The head is hollow and fits very snugly on the torso.
The piece that fits in the head of the mighty mugg is hard plastic, and for this project will need to come off.
I'll post photos of my sculpture of EWJ's head next post so keep an eye out for that. My next task is to saw off the plastic piece seen above without damaging the torso, wish me luck.
For the Earthworm Jim Mugg one thing was certain, I was going to have to take the head off of a Mighty Mugg in order to do a proper EWJ version. So I bought Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson).
Since I wanted to do a Gordon Freeman Mighty Mugg I bought a General Grievus figure since he comes with two light sabers, which could prove useful later on. After examining each of the muggs I found something unfavorable with the Gen. Grievus Mugg.
The head for this mugg seems to be made out of something similar to ping pong ball plastic. This would prove very difficult to take off since there's no give to such a hard plastic. Vinyl has plenty of give to it however and luckily Samuel L. Jackson's head is made out of Vinyl plastic. There is a way to tell the difference between the plastics each Mugg head is made out of although it may not be easy to do in the store. Please don't open the boxes in the store, there are collectors out there that like their boxes in pristine condition. If you look at the head closely you will probably be able to see a hint of a seam as highlighted above.
This should be a pretty good indicator that the mugg in question has a ping pong head. The other clue is that if you look closely enough, and I mean close, there is a little bit more texture to a vinyl head than a ping pong head. If you are lucky enough to happen across some loose Muggs at a flea market or someone's house, the easiest way to tell the difference is to peck on the head with a finger nail. The vinyl head has a duller sound to the harder plastic which has a sharper 'tick' sound to it.
Although there may be a few people out there who just long for a hernia, I would suggest not trying to pull it off straight out of the box. I was able to get the head off by pre-heating my kitchen oven to 150 degrees fahrenheit and then putting the figure in the oven on a pan for about 5-10 minutes. One has to be very careful in dealing with a kitchen oven, but by heating the Mighty Mugg up, the vinyl of the head is more malleable and so the head is easier to pry off. I feel that no more warning is due since people should know the Mighty Mugg will be hot when it comes out of the oven.
The head is hollow and fits very snugly on the torso.
The piece that fits in the head of the mighty mugg is hard plastic, and for this project will need to come off.
I'll post photos of my sculpture of EWJ's head next post so keep an eye out for that. My next task is to saw off the plastic piece seen above without damaging the torso, wish me luck.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Sucky Polls.
I have never had a comfortable experience when I have voted. The first votes I cast were in a windowless one room building behind a windowless door. I generally like to know what's inside a building before I go into it. Sure, there were smiling ladies sitting behind a table, but the building could have been filled with bees for all I knew.
Luckily the building was bee free. When I walk up to such a foreboding building, I feel like I should be ready to defend myself against whatever is behind the door. The least they could have done was leave the door open so that people walking up to the place knew what to expect when they walked in.
Perhaps the buildings chosen to hold the polls are the only ones available but they sure pick the worst possible ones to make voters feel welcome to vote. Since I moved I had to change my address so that I could vote more locally. So I had a new location where I had to go to cast my vote. This time it was a school that was fenced in with rusty fence and once again the place designated to be the polls was windowless.
This time however on the windowless door a poster had been posted with duct tape scrawled around the entire border that said at the very top "PROHIBITED AREA AND ACTIVITIES" which can be read from the parking lot. Then in smaller font it stated the laws of the polling area which can be read when about 5 feet from the door.
Upon asking someone where I was supposed to go they said "behind that door up there", the same door that seemed to prohibit anyone to enter. Once I entered the forbidden door, I was received once again by smiling ladies, in a very poorly lit gym. If we are to encourage people to vote, there should be a much better atmosphere at the places where we are to cast our votes. What I experienced was ridiculous.
Luckily the building was bee free. When I walk up to such a foreboding building, I feel like I should be ready to defend myself against whatever is behind the door. The least they could have done was leave the door open so that people walking up to the place knew what to expect when they walked in.
Perhaps the buildings chosen to hold the polls are the only ones available but they sure pick the worst possible ones to make voters feel welcome to vote. Since I moved I had to change my address so that I could vote more locally. So I had a new location where I had to go to cast my vote. This time it was a school that was fenced in with rusty fence and once again the place designated to be the polls was windowless.
This time however on the windowless door a poster had been posted with duct tape scrawled around the entire border that said at the very top "PROHIBITED AREA AND ACTIVITIES" which can be read from the parking lot. Then in smaller font it stated the laws of the polling area which can be read when about 5 feet from the door.
Upon asking someone where I was supposed to go they said "behind that door up there", the same door that seemed to prohibit anyone to enter. Once I entered the forbidden door, I was received once again by smiling ladies, in a very poorly lit gym. If we are to encourage people to vote, there should be a much better atmosphere at the places where we are to cast our votes. What I experienced was ridiculous.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Custom Mighty Muggs
Before Hasbro introduced the public to the Mighty Mugg there was Kidrobot. Believe me, Hasbro is not the first to produce "blank-canvas" figures. One thing Hasbro did right was selling an affordable version of a blank-canvas figure. I am new to doing custom toys but I really like the idea of it so my first two ideas were to do Earthworm Jim and Gordon Freeman.
I've always been a huge fan of Earthworm Jim. He is in fact my favorite video game character of all time. I find it difficult to believe that none of the major video game console producers have ever picked up this character as their mascot like Sega did with Sonic the Hedgehog, Sony with Crash Bandicoot, and Nintendo did with Mario Mario. That's right "Mario Mario". My girlfriend pointed out the fact that since they are "The Mario Brothers", Mario's last name is Mario and Luigi is "Luigi Mario". Heh.
Gordon Freeman is from the Half-life series of games by Valve Software which won critical acclaim and a multitude of awards for the original and sequel games. Hey, if I have to explain who Gordon Freeman is, then you've sorely missed out on one of the greatest series of games to date.
I will be documenting the process I go through to get the finished product, so expect to see more.
I've always been a huge fan of Earthworm Jim. He is in fact my favorite video game character of all time. I find it difficult to believe that none of the major video game console producers have ever picked up this character as their mascot like Sega did with Sonic the Hedgehog, Sony with Crash Bandicoot, and Nintendo did with Mario Mario. That's right "Mario Mario". My girlfriend pointed out the fact that since they are "The Mario Brothers", Mario's last name is Mario and Luigi is "Luigi Mario". Heh.
Gordon Freeman is from the Half-life series of games by Valve Software which won critical acclaim and a multitude of awards for the original and sequel games. Hey, if I have to explain who Gordon Freeman is, then you've sorely missed out on one of the greatest series of games to date.
I will be documenting the process I go through to get the finished product, so expect to see more.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Change Game.
Josh is leading right now with a prediction of $6.44. Greg has a long way to go but is the next closest since he predicted $6.75. Lee is in last place with a prediction of $9.32. I am out of the running since I have found more change than the average of Josh and my predictions.
For November and December I will not be posting the change I find since I have a bit of a surprise in store for everyone. It's not much, but I'm still really excited about it. So just wait and see! Even though we're nearing the end of the change game, I have yet to receive any money from anyone which is intentional.
Sending the money through Paypal is option one which could be easiest if everyone has an account. Or all the money could be sent to me so that I can then send it to the winner and since this is a game based on trust there should be no concern over whether I will just keep the cash, especially since I started this whole thing in the first place.
Thanks to everyone for participating!
For November and December I will not be posting the change I find since I have a bit of a surprise in store for everyone. It's not much, but I'm still really excited about it. So just wait and see! Even though we're nearing the end of the change game, I have yet to receive any money from anyone which is intentional.
Sending the money through Paypal is option one which could be easiest if everyone has an account. Or all the money could be sent to me so that I can then send it to the winner and since this is a game based on trust there should be no concern over whether I will just keep the cash, especially since I started this whole thing in the first place.
Thanks to everyone for participating!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Game Cube Wave Bird.
As I have stated before the Wii has its faults. I'm not here to trash it this time though, I'm here to address that Nintendo really needs to consider putting out another run of Game Cube Wave Bird controllers. True, there is still a third party wireless controller on the market but from my experience one should never buy a third party controller. Few people would use the Wiimote and nunchuk for certain games if they had a GCWB. One significant example is Super Smash Bros Brawl. The Wave Bird just works best for SSBB. The GCWB is wireless which is how controllers for the Wii should be and I just refuse to buy the "Classic Controller" they made for the wii.
This controller plugs into the wiimote and is powered by it. The way they made the cord come out of the bottom of this controller suggests to me that they want players to sit on the wiimote for a more enjoyable playing experience.
The idea of having to plug the classic controller into the wiimote just seems so inefficient to me. Perhaps since it does plug into the wiimote there would be a plus to hearing the sounds that are made to play through the wiimote's speaker, but this is a minor feature that wouldn't be missed. Why doesn't Nintendo just make a new version of the Wave Bird and make it so that the receiver fits flush on top of the Wii, and instead of gray it's white and shiny, heck even put rumble and a speaker in it too! This post may not have came to fruition if the GCWB is easy to find in used games stores but they're a rarity now.
The reason for this is because people are still using them! I went to a LAN party not too long ago and a lot of people were playing Smash Bros Melee on their Wii consoles (before Brawl came out) and everyone was using GCWBs!
Think about it Nintendo.
This controller plugs into the wiimote and is powered by it. The way they made the cord come out of the bottom of this controller suggests to me that they want players to sit on the wiimote for a more enjoyable playing experience.
The idea of having to plug the classic controller into the wiimote just seems so inefficient to me. Perhaps since it does plug into the wiimote there would be a plus to hearing the sounds that are made to play through the wiimote's speaker, but this is a minor feature that wouldn't be missed. Why doesn't Nintendo just make a new version of the Wave Bird and make it so that the receiver fits flush on top of the Wii, and instead of gray it's white and shiny, heck even put rumble and a speaker in it too! This post may not have came to fruition if the GCWB is easy to find in used games stores but they're a rarity now.
The reason for this is because people are still using them! I went to a LAN party not too long ago and a lot of people were playing Smash Bros Melee on their Wii consoles (before Brawl came out) and everyone was using GCWBs!
Think about it Nintendo.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
My Jargon.
Everybody has their own jargon which is especially present while they're on the internet. So I figured I would highlight some of my own jargon that I use while I talk to people on the internet.
*nods* - I hate when people use "ic" and I hate having to use it. Something about it just irks me. The connotations of it come off a little bit negative to me and "whatever" is even worse. *nods* is a much more simple acknowledgment with no negative influence.
Of course there's "cool", "sweet", "I understand", and "I gotcha" also, but "cool" and "sweet" are reserved for things that you enjoy finding out about. "I understand" sounds too formal and "I gotcha"... well.. that one works pretty well, but I like *nods* best. To note, the double asterisks in google talk will make a word bold but I used it before google talk to indicate action. *Nods* is even more fun to say aloud when someone is talking to you in real time. Especially when there is No indication of a nod at all.
*shrugs* - "idk" is a more simple one to use, but there's no imagery involved and to me using it comes off as a sort of juvenile acronym tantamount to using "u" for "you", "4" for "for", and "2" for "too", "to" and "two". Wait... scratch "two".. I got carried away. *Shrugs* is another fun one to say aloud in the company of others with no indication of an actual shrug.
The next two terms are sort of how I have fun with language in public or with company. I enjoy trying to find shortcuts that when said don't register as shortcuts to others. I can't think of any other examples because I have to be in the moment but 'lo is a good example for now.
When you say "'lo" aloud to someone in passing, generally they just assume that they either didn't hear the "He" in "Hello" or don't even put any thought into it at all and just react as if there was nothing abnormal. I have even gone so far as omitting entire words from the beginning of a spoken sentence and getting away with it because they expected my answer. This principle is similar to that in which I used in "February 18th, 2008 REMIX", which was a "remix" of February 18th 2008 on Threadless. Seemingly a failure among my posts on Threadless.
hate - I try not to hate unforgivingly but some people really deserve it. I kid of course but mainly when I'm playing a game with other people online and they're better than me, I'll often spring "hate" on em. That's it, that's all I say "hate". It best describes my annoyance with their superior skills while minimizing the amount of whining I put on them. It's effective to use when you see something in public and you don't want everyone except the ones closest to you to know that you're not happy with something you've seen as well.
'lo - I don't know how other people are taking to this new term that I'm using. Generally when someone makes their presence known they say "Hi" of course. Well, I reply with "'lo" meaning "hello". I'm not trying to be a smartass by using it, but I do kind of enjoy the double entendre of it's usage. I thought about using " 'llo" as well, which could be pronounced "yo" if using the spanish principles of language i.e. "tortilla" but I think I'll stick with " 'lo".
'shop - The power of the apostrophe should be apparent by now. Sometimes I'll find myself using two in one word, such as "should'nt've". Well, in this case I use it to refer to photoshop without actually using the word photo, the apostrophe takes care of that. Usage: I just finished 'shopping our picture, wanna see?
b.r.b. - "BRB" is quite common meaning "be right back" but sometimes the person will catch you to say something else first before you leave when this is used. Sometimes a "brb" is much more urgent, like when you need to go to the bathroom. So I think the best way to really show that it's urgent is to use "b.r.b." which means "bathroom break". My friend started me saying "BURB" aloud when I have to go do something while in the company of others but I'm almost over that now.
:thumbsup: and (y) - This disappoints me regularly with chat programs. The only one with an actual emoticon is trillian, and I think it only works for ICQ. The text that you have to type for the thumbs up emoticon to show up is (y), but few people pickup on that in any other program unless they've used ICQ so I end up having to explain what it means. :thumbsup: is used in deviantart to call upon the emoticon equivalent, but I'm lazy and I don't want to have to type out :thumbsup: to convey a :thumbsup:. In fact I've done it too much already. If you type it out, you'll find your fingers jumping all over the place.
Blog - I try to keep this word out of my vocabulary. Blog is a horrid word. When I say "I have a new post on my blog," I immediately feel like a prude. I call it my "blarg" sometimes just to show my disdain for the word "blog" and I sometimes call a post a "blarticle" which is a portmanteau*3, but once I use it I feel like I've used a really offensive word. Probably because a "blart" is a blood fart and past this I never want to have to mention that again. So I guess ultimately saying "post" isn't so bad, and neither is "article".
Bye... - Sometimes goodbyes run a little long on chat programs. Some people combat this by simply closing the chat program immediately after saying bye. I use "Bye..." since I leave my chat programs on all the time. The "..." is supposed to hint to the other person that they should shut up in the nicest way possible.
I'd say by now, if you've made it this far, that you want to tell me "Bye..." so I guess I'll stop for now, this subject may require a revisit in the future when I feel I have enough information to further explain my quirkiness.
*nods* - I hate when people use "ic" and I hate having to use it. Something about it just irks me. The connotations of it come off a little bit negative to me and "whatever" is even worse. *nods* is a much more simple acknowledgment with no negative influence.
Of course there's "cool", "sweet", "I understand", and "I gotcha" also, but "cool" and "sweet" are reserved for things that you enjoy finding out about. "I understand" sounds too formal and "I gotcha"... well.. that one works pretty well, but I like *nods* best. To note, the double asterisks in google talk will make a word bold but I used it before google talk to indicate action. *Nods* is even more fun to say aloud when someone is talking to you in real time. Especially when there is No indication of a nod at all.
*shrugs* - "idk" is a more simple one to use, but there's no imagery involved and to me using it comes off as a sort of juvenile acronym tantamount to using "u" for "you", "4" for "for", and "2" for "too", "to" and "two". Wait... scratch "two".. I got carried away. *Shrugs* is another fun one to say aloud in the company of others with no indication of an actual shrug.
The next two terms are sort of how I have fun with language in public or with company. I enjoy trying to find shortcuts that when said don't register as shortcuts to others. I can't think of any other examples because I have to be in the moment but 'lo is a good example for now.
When you say "'lo" aloud to someone in passing, generally they just assume that they either didn't hear the "He" in "Hello" or don't even put any thought into it at all and just react as if there was nothing abnormal. I have even gone so far as omitting entire words from the beginning of a spoken sentence and getting away with it because they expected my answer. This principle is similar to that in which I used in "February 18th, 2008 REMIX", which was a "remix" of February 18th 2008 on Threadless. Seemingly a failure among my posts on Threadless.
hate - I try not to hate unforgivingly but some people really deserve it. I kid of course but mainly when I'm playing a game with other people online and they're better than me, I'll often spring "hate" on em. That's it, that's all I say "hate". It best describes my annoyance with their superior skills while minimizing the amount of whining I put on them. It's effective to use when you see something in public and you don't want everyone except the ones closest to you to know that you're not happy with something you've seen as well.
'lo - I don't know how other people are taking to this new term that I'm using. Generally when someone makes their presence known they say "Hi" of course. Well, I reply with "'lo" meaning "hello". I'm not trying to be a smartass by using it, but I do kind of enjoy the double entendre of it's usage. I thought about using " 'llo" as well, which could be pronounced "yo" if using the spanish principles of language i.e. "tortilla" but I think I'll stick with " 'lo".
'shop - The power of the apostrophe should be apparent by now. Sometimes I'll find myself using two in one word, such as "should'nt've". Well, in this case I use it to refer to photoshop without actually using the word photo, the apostrophe takes care of that. Usage: I just finished 'shopping our picture, wanna see?
b.r.b. - "BRB" is quite common meaning "be right back" but sometimes the person will catch you to say something else first before you leave when this is used. Sometimes a "brb" is much more urgent, like when you need to go to the bathroom. So I think the best way to really show that it's urgent is to use "b.r.b." which means "bathroom break". My friend started me saying "BURB" aloud when I have to go do something while in the company of others but I'm almost over that now.
:thumbsup: and (y) - This disappoints me regularly with chat programs. The only one with an actual emoticon is trillian, and I think it only works for ICQ. The text that you have to type for the thumbs up emoticon to show up is (y), but few people pickup on that in any other program unless they've used ICQ so I end up having to explain what it means. :thumbsup: is used in deviantart to call upon the emoticon equivalent, but I'm lazy and I don't want to have to type out :thumbsup: to convey a :thumbsup:. In fact I've done it too much already. If you type it out, you'll find your fingers jumping all over the place.
Blog - I try to keep this word out of my vocabulary. Blog is a horrid word. When I say "I have a new post on my blog," I immediately feel like a prude. I call it my "blarg" sometimes just to show my disdain for the word "blog" and I sometimes call a post a "blarticle" which is a portmanteau*3, but once I use it I feel like I've used a really offensive word. Probably because a "blart" is a blood fart and past this I never want to have to mention that again. So I guess ultimately saying "post" isn't so bad, and neither is "article".
Bye... - Sometimes goodbyes run a little long on chat programs. Some people combat this by simply closing the chat program immediately after saying bye. I use "Bye..." since I leave my chat programs on all the time. The "..." is supposed to hint to the other person that they should shut up in the nicest way possible.
I'd say by now, if you've made it this far, that you want to tell me "Bye..." so I guess I'll stop for now, this subject may require a revisit in the future when I feel I have enough information to further explain my quirkiness.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Taco Bell's Dog.
I am Taco Bell's Dog. The television was on in the other room, and aside from the fact that I could hear the somewhat recognizable voice and the saucy sounds of the wind instruments, at the very end of the commercial I heard the pæan of that bell and immediately thought, *Mmm I'd like some Taco Bell tomorrow.* Therefore, I am Taco Bell's dog.
Monday, September 8, 2008
New Sensations.
I recently took part in a flavor tripping party with some friends and it was very interesting. There's this fruit called the miracle fruit that a couple companies make into a concentrated tablet and sell on the internet. The point of this tablet is to change the way your tongue perceives tastes. It doesn't change the flavor of every palette, mainly sour flavors and some bitter flavors, but the affect on the bitter is slight from my experience. That may just be me as everyone has slightly different tastes.
I tried several different things during this experience: grape fruit, lemons, limes, vinegar, hot sauce, red bull, plain yogurt, Warhead Super Sour Spray, green olives, pickle juice, cream cheese, unsweetened tea, red and green tomatoes.
The first thing I grabbed was a slice of lemon, my eyes lit up! It tasted like candy, but at the end of the first nip I could feel a little bit of the acid sourness on the edges of my tongue. Red Bull was my favorite, generally Red Bull has quite the tang to it but with the miracle fruit it was almost as sweet as cream soda.
The dumbest thing I did during the party was to take a full tablespoon of vinegar. It did taste pretty good, but it kind of choked me up. Even though miracle fruit will change the flavor it doesn't change the harshness of any of the food. Because of that there is the danger that you could damage your tongue from having so many acidic foods, nothing that won't heal though.
Cream cheese, plain yogurt, hot sauce and green olives weren't the most pleasant however. Cream cheese mainly tasted bland, plain yogurt did get a little sweeter, but still just didn't taste too good. I like my yogurt with fruit. The miracle fruit just takes some of the edge off of the green olive, same goes for the hot sauce which also sort of choked me up.
If anyone has eaten macaroni and tomatoes with sugar that's essentially what I got from eating a tomato while tripping, the green tomato didn't taste as good as the red one but it still tasted pretty good as far as I was concerned.
A couple things I missed out on trying were cough syrup and sharp cheddar. Perhaps there will be a next time though.
The NY Times Article
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I know the question that is on everybody's mind is what would it be like to drink cold water while taking a warm shower?
I tried it recently. Although the results weren't as interesting as I expected it was still something new. Invigorating is not quite the word for drinking cold water while in the shower, but it is the word for letting the same cold water dribble down the chest while taking a shower. *shivers*
Of course if you decide you want to try to do the same, I would recommend a bottle. A glass of water would be hard to keep cold, especially if you let the shower water get in the drinking water. That scenario brings me to think of some pretty funny imagery though.
I tried several different things during this experience: grape fruit, lemons, limes, vinegar, hot sauce, red bull, plain yogurt, Warhead Super Sour Spray, green olives, pickle juice, cream cheese, unsweetened tea, red and green tomatoes.
The first thing I grabbed was a slice of lemon, my eyes lit up! It tasted like candy, but at the end of the first nip I could feel a little bit of the acid sourness on the edges of my tongue. Red Bull was my favorite, generally Red Bull has quite the tang to it but with the miracle fruit it was almost as sweet as cream soda.
The dumbest thing I did during the party was to take a full tablespoon of vinegar. It did taste pretty good, but it kind of choked me up. Even though miracle fruit will change the flavor it doesn't change the harshness of any of the food. Because of that there is the danger that you could damage your tongue from having so many acidic foods, nothing that won't heal though.
Cream cheese, plain yogurt, hot sauce and green olives weren't the most pleasant however. Cream cheese mainly tasted bland, plain yogurt did get a little sweeter, but still just didn't taste too good. I like my yogurt with fruit. The miracle fruit just takes some of the edge off of the green olive, same goes for the hot sauce which also sort of choked me up.
If anyone has eaten macaroni and tomatoes with sugar that's essentially what I got from eating a tomato while tripping, the green tomato didn't taste as good as the red one but it still tasted pretty good as far as I was concerned.
A couple things I missed out on trying were cough syrup and sharp cheddar. Perhaps there will be a next time though.
The NY Times Article
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I know the question that is on everybody's mind is what would it be like to drink cold water while taking a warm shower?
I tried it recently. Although the results weren't as interesting as I expected it was still something new. Invigorating is not quite the word for drinking cold water while in the shower, but it is the word for letting the same cold water dribble down the chest while taking a shower. *shivers*
Of course if you decide you want to try to do the same, I would recommend a bottle. A glass of water would be hard to keep cold, especially if you let the shower water get in the drinking water. That scenario brings me to think of some pretty funny imagery though.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Inattention Theatre: Moon Landing
This is the beginning of an ongoing series of videos that we're planning to do. I hope you enjoy it.
Here's the website for the company I work for: Play Attention
Here's the website for the company I work for: Play Attention
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Change update.
I have some competition. Whenever I am out it is usually with my girlfriend, and she has a voracious appetite for finding change. She has probably knocked me out of at least $.30. Incidentally she has promised a 5 spot and is on the list of predictions. She could manipulate the game in such a way to where she could win the pot herself by either tipping me off that there's a coin on the ground, or picking it up without letting me know if I were to find enough change for her to be in her prediction bracket. Luckily, there's little to worry about, because she is a genuinely honest person. That or a really really good liar.
Aside from the threat of sabotage, it has been sort of a dry period for finding change. Maybe she is trying to sabotage the game? Anyway, with the dry times, comes less things to mention on the topic. I had sort of decided to wait until I found at least three different mangled coins before I would post them, but sabotage is interesting enough to supplement with one photo of a mangled coin.
I found this one at a Hardee's drive-thru window. Mind you, I did say that drive-thru windows were off limits if I were to intentionally scour them, or open the door when I'm pulled up to one. But this situation is a little bit different in that we parked on the side that the drive-thru was on, and just past the window is the door to walk in to place an order. Because of this, it's pretty easy to see and grab any change that people had dropped.
The other side of the coin was relatively unharmed. Apparently asphault is a bit rougher on a coin than a rubber tire is. Go figure!
Aside from the threat of sabotage, it has been sort of a dry period for finding change. Maybe she is trying to sabotage the game? Anyway, with the dry times, comes less things to mention on the topic. I had sort of decided to wait until I found at least three different mangled coins before I would post them, but sabotage is interesting enough to supplement with one photo of a mangled coin.
I found this one at a Hardee's drive-thru window. Mind you, I did say that drive-thru windows were off limits if I were to intentionally scour them, or open the door when I'm pulled up to one. But this situation is a little bit different in that we parked on the side that the drive-thru was on, and just past the window is the door to walk in to place an order. Because of this, it's pretty easy to see and grab any change that people had dropped.
The other side of the coin was relatively unharmed. Apparently asphault is a bit rougher on a coin than a rubber tire is. Go figure!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Big Boss.
About Adult ADD
Despite some flaws I would have to say that I am pretty proud of this short. I'm also glad it is finished. Be on the look out for others to come your way soon.
Vegeterrorists
I helped raise a duck from a day old to a little over two months old. I have fed it, gave it water every day, and I watched it play in a big tub full of water with vigor. This week I'm going to eat it.
Many people won't have such a dose of reality presented before them. Even though a lot of people won't have to deal with this issue, I think it is very important to have to face it. I am against the message that the political vegetarians present. Don't like the taste of meat? That's fine. Cruelty to animals sucks too. But refusing to eat flesh because of a soft heart is ridiculous to me.
I can't say that I don't have a little soft spot in my heart for the duck, but to protest that it not serve as my nourishment would be hypocritical of me. Nature's truth is the reason I am so against the vegetarian's political reasons behind not eating meat. Animals eat meat to survive and so do we. Although there are herbivores, their stomachs are made to handle a solely vegetarian diet. There is a reason why our stomachs are made to handle flora and fauna. It is because we are supposed to eat both.
The wrong in all of this is not eating meat, the wrong is in wasting it. Gluttonous eating and wastefulness is shameful. If vegetarians want to protest they should protest the corpulent folks who stay in a buffet restaurant for two hours. By not eating meat I would go as far to say that vegetarians are insulting the needy who would love to have a little bit of chicken on their plate. Do we live in such a coddled society that people actually refuse food on principle? Those who are starving would be disgusted and call it ungrateful.
Perhaps my less than favorable view of the vegetarian way is rooted in my pet peeve of picky eaters. I don't speak of hatred toward the vegetarians, I just don't understand, nor do I accept their choice to not eat meat.
Many people won't have such a dose of reality presented before them. Even though a lot of people won't have to deal with this issue, I think it is very important to have to face it. I am against the message that the political vegetarians present. Don't like the taste of meat? That's fine. Cruelty to animals sucks too. But refusing to eat flesh because of a soft heart is ridiculous to me.
I can't say that I don't have a little soft spot in my heart for the duck, but to protest that it not serve as my nourishment would be hypocritical of me. Nature's truth is the reason I am so against the vegetarian's political reasons behind not eating meat. Animals eat meat to survive and so do we. Although there are herbivores, their stomachs are made to handle a solely vegetarian diet. There is a reason why our stomachs are made to handle flora and fauna. It is because we are supposed to eat both.
The wrong in all of this is not eating meat, the wrong is in wasting it. Gluttonous eating and wastefulness is shameful. If vegetarians want to protest they should protest the corpulent folks who stay in a buffet restaurant for two hours. By not eating meat I would go as far to say that vegetarians are insulting the needy who would love to have a little bit of chicken on their plate. Do we live in such a coddled society that people actually refuse food on principle? Those who are starving would be disgusted and call it ungrateful.
Perhaps my less than favorable view of the vegetarian way is rooted in my pet peeve of picky eaters. I don't speak of hatred toward the vegetarians, I just don't understand, nor do I accept their choice to not eat meat.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Camera Sensor Cleaning.
There are a few sites that explain how to clean your camera's CCD. Copper Hill Images is the one I bought my equipment from, they also have tutorials on how to clean your camera's sensor. They also sent me a generic slinky with my order which they called a "Magic Spring." Cleaning a digital camera's sensor isn't really all too difficult so long as you have a steady hand and a little patience.
The websites that give you tutorials just get all worked up about how if you really screw up while cleaning your camera, you're going to damage your CCD. Replacing a CCD is very expensive, but from my experience you would really have to try to screw up your sensor to actually do it, especially if you watch or read any tutorials on how to do it at all.
The Arctic Butterfly sensor cleaning brush is ridiculously expensive. I had a trusted source recommend it, but after looking at it, it's really just a glorified brush with a motor used to shake off the dust. But I went with Sensor Sweep which is the brush you see in the tube above.
Something most important to remember with these brushes is that you should Never touch the bristles. Doing so greases it up with your filthy finger crisco and could mean transferring said grease on your sensor. Using either the Giotto Rocket-Air blower (seen below) or a pressurized can of air is supposed to statically charge the bristles of the brush and therefore make it easier to extract the dust from your sensor while clearing it of any dust on the bristles. This is the dry method of cleaning.
When using a pressurized source of air DO NOT use those small CO2 cartridges used in pneumatic powered guns. That type of cartridge usually has a little oil in it that is supposed to lubricate the inside of the guns that use them. Using one of those types of compressed air adapters that fit onto those cartridges for your camera could mean a gunked up sensor. Bad mojo. Using canned air the wrong way could blow frozen CO2 on your sensor. That's why I like the squeeze bulb shown above.
The wet method of cleaning uses the Pec Pads, the plastic and rubber wand, rubber bands and highly flammable methanol. The reason for the methanol is to be sure that it evaporates from the sensor. The reason for wet cleaning is to get any "welded dust" off the sensor. Basically that means that somehow moisture and dust came together on the sensor and sort of glued the dust to the sensor. Blowing into the sensor area with your mouth is a good way to make this happen, even if you manage not to spit, you're still blowing moisture from your lungs into the camera.
That's the basics. Just be careful. And don't say I didn't warn you, making mistakes could cost you a camera. Now go wash your hands!
The websites that give you tutorials just get all worked up about how if you really screw up while cleaning your camera, you're going to damage your CCD. Replacing a CCD is very expensive, but from my experience you would really have to try to screw up your sensor to actually do it, especially if you watch or read any tutorials on how to do it at all.
The Arctic Butterfly sensor cleaning brush is ridiculously expensive. I had a trusted source recommend it, but after looking at it, it's really just a glorified brush with a motor used to shake off the dust. But I went with Sensor Sweep which is the brush you see in the tube above.
Something most important to remember with these brushes is that you should Never touch the bristles. Doing so greases it up with your filthy finger crisco and could mean transferring said grease on your sensor. Using either the Giotto Rocket-Air blower (seen below) or a pressurized can of air is supposed to statically charge the bristles of the brush and therefore make it easier to extract the dust from your sensor while clearing it of any dust on the bristles. This is the dry method of cleaning.
When using a pressurized source of air DO NOT use those small CO2 cartridges used in pneumatic powered guns. That type of cartridge usually has a little oil in it that is supposed to lubricate the inside of the guns that use them. Using one of those types of compressed air adapters that fit onto those cartridges for your camera could mean a gunked up sensor. Bad mojo. Using canned air the wrong way could blow frozen CO2 on your sensor. That's why I like the squeeze bulb shown above.
The wet method of cleaning uses the Pec Pads, the plastic and rubber wand, rubber bands and highly flammable methanol. The reason for the methanol is to be sure that it evaporates from the sensor. The reason for wet cleaning is to get any "welded dust" off the sensor. Basically that means that somehow moisture and dust came together on the sensor and sort of glued the dust to the sensor. Blowing into the sensor area with your mouth is a good way to make this happen, even if you manage not to spit, you're still blowing moisture from your lungs into the camera.
That's the basics. Just be careful. And don't say I didn't warn you, making mistakes could cost you a camera. Now go wash your hands!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Customizing your camera.
This is a tripod.
If tied to the plate attached to the bottom of your camera or to the strap brackets on the sides, you can turn this string into a tripod.
Simply step on the string in a wide stance and then raise up to tighten the string so that you can better steady your shot. This method is best done while leaning on a wall. Doing so gives you three bracing points that will really help to steady your shot if you don't have access to a real tripod. Although this is not new, it is useful and can get you up to 3 extra f-stops on a shot in certain situations.
You need about 15 feet of string for this, I am 6 feet tall so 6ft x 2 + 3ft = 15ft because the string had to be double my height in order to reach the ground and each end of the string be attached to each side of the camera. I allowed the 3 extra feet so I could adjust my stance.
I thought the Targus Grypton tripod was worth buying. I can't say that it wasn't yet, but it amounts to me having screwed it up to where it won't hold up my camera the way it would have if I hadn't immediately tried to customize it.
By pulling off the top pieces of the tripod, I was able to fit a strap on it that I could then attach to my camera bag.
In doing so I cracked one of the points of articulation and rendered the tripod somewhat useless. I figure I'll get around to fixing it eventually. Scratching the inside of it was a meager attempt at adding some friction to the parts. Aside from working as a tripod, these things are almost cheap enough to buy 2 or 3 and use them in several different applications. I've thought about converting one into a multi-use tool using different attachments. A magnifying glass, reading light, alligator clips to name a few.
This button loosens the plate, you twist the piece just below it to either lock or unlock the plate release button.
Finally, the strap for my camera gets in the way often. I looked online and found that some people attach keyrings to each end of their strap and then some clips onto the rings. Here is my solution. This is especially helpful to setup a timelapse more quickly.
If tied to the plate attached to the bottom of your camera or to the strap brackets on the sides, you can turn this string into a tripod.
Simply step on the string in a wide stance and then raise up to tighten the string so that you can better steady your shot. This method is best done while leaning on a wall. Doing so gives you three bracing points that will really help to steady your shot if you don't have access to a real tripod. Although this is not new, it is useful and can get you up to 3 extra f-stops on a shot in certain situations.
You need about 15 feet of string for this, I am 6 feet tall so 6ft x 2 + 3ft = 15ft because the string had to be double my height in order to reach the ground and each end of the string be attached to each side of the camera. I allowed the 3 extra feet so I could adjust my stance.
I thought the Targus Grypton tripod was worth buying. I can't say that it wasn't yet, but it amounts to me having screwed it up to where it won't hold up my camera the way it would have if I hadn't immediately tried to customize it.
By pulling off the top pieces of the tripod, I was able to fit a strap on it that I could then attach to my camera bag.
In doing so I cracked one of the points of articulation and rendered the tripod somewhat useless. I figure I'll get around to fixing it eventually. Scratching the inside of it was a meager attempt at adding some friction to the parts. Aside from working as a tripod, these things are almost cheap enough to buy 2 or 3 and use them in several different applications. I've thought about converting one into a multi-use tool using different attachments. A magnifying glass, reading light, alligator clips to name a few.
This button loosens the plate, you twist the piece just below it to either lock or unlock the plate release button.
Finally, the strap for my camera gets in the way often. I looked online and found that some people attach keyrings to each end of their strap and then some clips onto the rings. Here is my solution. This is especially helpful to setup a timelapse more quickly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
