Tuesday, September 28, 2010

OK phone contract

Normally tech things are cheaper in the US than Europe, but it seems mobile contracts may be an exception. For my mifi device I have a contract-free deal, which gives me 5GB of data usage per month, for fifteen Pounds Sterling ($25). I think US citizens often pay the same for only 250MB, and with a longer contract, ainit right?

Bathrobe

I was asked where I bought this bathrobe, and for a picture, so I might as well promote this small company, they make exceptional products: bathrobe.co.uk (not to be confused with bathrobes.co.uk, which is blah).

Being ten

On the local railway, children age 10 and under travel at half-price.

A woman and her daughter were taking the train into the city.

As the conductor began collecting fares, the woman said to the daughter, "Now remember, you are only 10." The girl nodded her head.

The conductor approached the two of them.

"One adult and one child please," the woman said to the conductor as she pulled out her wallet and withdrew the proper amount of cash. The conductor began punching the tickets.

"What a cute little girl!" the conductor said. "How old are you?" he asked in a friendly voice.

"I'm 10." the girl answered.

"And when will you be 11?" he asked in that same friendly voice.

The girl answered, "As soon as I get off this train!"

Monday, September 27, 2010

HTML guide

Here is an HTML guide for the basics, which I've had recommended as being superior.

Hackers and coffee

Linus Thorvalds seem to have a sizeable cappucino habit.

Gamma and mid-tones

I was taught years ago that photos will generally look darker on PCs than on Macs, because Macs had a built-in correction of "gamma", which lifts the mid-tones, but PCs didn't. Does anybody know if this difference is still in place with modern machines?

Landslide video

[Thanks to Kirk]

Amateur video of a landslide in Italy. Pretty amazing, it just keeps moving and moving.

Misunderstood

To be great is to be misunderstood.
           -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Essay on Self-Reliance

I guess it's often so. Though one should not count on the converse to be true!

Coupl'a funnies

The first one is pure Domai.



 (I must admit, around the latest Madonna video I saw, I was thinking: "so, lady, maybe it's about time you went for Classy rather than Sexy, hm?")




Sunday, September 26, 2010

Instapaper Mobile site

Instapaper is one of my favorite mobile apps. Now they also have a mobile site, which lets you browse many sites on a hand-held device in simple text form.
For some reason it does not work with some sites, like my blogs, but it's works very well with sites like NYTimes and Wall Street Journal.
(The latter, by the way, has excellent tech coverage. I would have bought a mobile subscription, but once again I found out upon trying to buy it, that it's not sold to "forriners". It's really getting old.)

Hasselblad and Ferrari

Hasselblad and Ferrari cross-branding.
I'm not sure I see the point. You can't photograph while driving. And the Hassy is definitely a working camera, and I don't think there are all that many working photographers who can afford a Ferrari. Especially not after they have invested in a Hasselblad system! (That's easily $50k or more, for a body and a couple of lenses and such.)


Bruce said: 
"This camera is not made to be used. It is made to be collected. Leica does special collector's editions like this quite often."

Quite so. And I never really got "collectors' editions" or "items" either. If something is made only to be "collected", it has zero worth. It's completely artificial. How can it be interesting? It's quite a different thing and more interesting, I think, if you're collecting stuff which was put into the world for another purpose than to drain money from Collectors, say stamps or first edition books or uhm, wha'ever.

Quotes of the meek

There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.
           -- General Douglas MacArthur

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
           -- Lord Chesterfield

You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know what was in the newspapers that morning... a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be.
           -- Joseph Campbell

I seek constantly to improve my manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted.
           -- Og Mandino