Tripod

I recently received a tripod for my camera as a gift.  Digital photography is a hobby of mine and I only recently recognized that a tripod might be useful.  Now that I have one, I can tell you that it is a very valuable addition to the photographer’s kit.  Let me explain why.

When using a camera you are limited by the minimum shutterspeed you can choose to avoid camera shake.  If camera shake occurs, the result will be a blurry photo.  Image stabilization can help solve this problem somewhat, but still is only a partial solution.  A tripod solves this problem; with it you can set any shutterspeed offered by the camera.

Access to slower shutterspeeds may not seem like a big deal, but it is.  It allows you to do all kinds of interesting things that were not possible hand holding.  It also allows for you to take two of the same shots that differ only by exposure.  This is a requirement for high dynamic range photography.

I highly recommend the addition of a tripod to any serious photographers kit.

 

Slingbox on a Blackberry

I am huge fan of my Slingbox.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, a Slingbox is a device that will stream video from your home Internet connection anywhere in the world.  All you need to do is connect it to your cable box and your Internet connection and you are good to go.  You can remotely control the cable box and tune to any channel remotely.  The system works very well and I often use it at home to stream to my laptop while my wife is watching something else.

The one thing that I was missing on my Slingbox was a way to stream the video to my new 3G Blackberry Bold.  How cool would it be to be able to stream video to my Blackberry wherever I am?  Well, it appears that I am in luck.  Sling Media appears to be launching an open beta of the Blackberry Client for Slingbox late this year according to this post.  I am definitely going to try this out.

The US auto industry bailout, part 3

I have posted in the past about the challenges with the big three auto manufacturers.  Specifically, I had suggested that they should be allowed to file bankruptcy since they are burdened with an excessive cost structure.  However, the blame for their problems cannot be placed solely on their cost structure.  That is only a part of the problem.

A car company’s job is to make cars that consumers want.  They must gauge consumer trends and reliability requirements and produce cars that meet these needs.  You only need to look at Honda and Toyota for examples of companies who do this consistently well.  These companies have done a tremendous job responding to customer needs and the Accord and Camry are perennial best sellers and provide the comfort, features and fuel economy that customers are looking for.  This blog entry shows the market share of these cars and others and it is interesting to see that Honda and Toyota own the first four slots.

Continue reading The US auto industry bailout, part 3

Obama cabinet picks

I recently was perusing the Internet and ran into this article where they discuss Obama’s cabinet appointments.  Specifically, the article suggests that liberals are growing nervous about the centrist nature of Obama’s cabinet picks.  Personally, I think that a centrist approach is much more pragmatic and likely to lead to success.

Like anything else, the voting population varies from far left to far right.  Clearly the liberals were huge supporters of Obama and his message.  However, I believe that the far left is a relatively small minority(as is the far right) and that you cannot win an election by only appealing to that crowd.  Obama’s success in the election came from attracting centrist liberals and conservatives.  If he were to fill his cabinet with far left politicians only, he would risk alienating his constituency which could negatively impact has presidency and hurt his chances for a second term.  In my opinion, the right move is the centrist approach.