Salt Peanuts

Louis Armstrong - Satchmo Plays King Oliver

That sounds great.

Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily

Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert In Central Park

Stretch, can you not use your 3GS in South Africa or are you just planning on getting the supposedly-coming-anytime-now new version?

I want a 50mm prime, though I'll probably wait till I save up for the f/1.4 model. Been thinking of renting that and 10-22mm, but haven't done so in the fear that I end up liking them a lot.

Adobe currently has Lightroom 3 Beta 2 (public) out that is free to use until they release version 3 or next beta build. This is what I'm using and I really like it, though admittedly, I haven't used many other tools. I've tried out Aperture 3 but it runs slow on my MacBook - I think this is a function of my old MacBook w/ integrated graphics than the software, though. I really like the yawning picture, Reks.

Skillet Lasagna

That is one thing I do remember. Thanks mostly to Nate, actually - I overheard him talking about it at the meet at Casa Stretch and it stuck with me for some reason.

x2. So the flickr plug-in on my Lightroom decided to randomly update/re-publish few pics even though I hadn't made any changes (thus the broken links few posts up). Anyhow, I fiddled around with the view-through-the-columns shot as per Knuckle's suggestion using Lightroom and below is the result. I like it better now.

I bought a flash with my body, but haven't really gotten around to using it. I really should start learning it.

Damn, Knuckles. I hope the repair doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.

Went to hospital early in the morning and spent 5 hours there for what turned out to be a false alarm. Got to work late to find way too many things that needed my attention. 4 hours later, I think I've finally caught up and can start doing some of the actual work I was planning on doing today.

^ Kinda looks like Christmas lights. How many different colored diffusers are there? On topic, I bought a bottle of Robitussin for the damn cough and sore throat that just won't go away.

Went out for a walk at a local state park. Proceeded to get eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Took a walk around Lowell yesterday and went out for a walk today at a local state park. We had to cut the walk today short since we were being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Have a great one!

Happy Birthday!

x2. And congrats on the move, Stephen!

Warren Zevon - Genius

So I recently ordered an 8x12 print of same photo from both AdoramaPix and ezprints. I went with those two places since they were two of few places that offered 8x12 size. Below are my experiences from the whole process - Ordering process was fairly painless from both places, though AdoramaPix interface was slow as molasses for me. Ezprints was wee bit cheaper. The prints were made on same paper (Kodak Pro Endura). Shipping cost was also cheaper with ezprints, $1.75 vs. $4.99 for AdoramaPix both using the cheapest shipping option. Both provided e-mail copy of the receipt, but only AdoramaPix provided any tracking information (I guess the extra shipping cost helps here). Packaging - AdoramaPix placed the print face down on a thin foam shrink-wrapped to a cardboard, which was packed in a rigid box. Ezprints placed the print in a clear plastic bag and used a small poster tube for packaging. I much prefer the packaging of AdoramaPix as the print doesn't roll up into a tube. Neither place offered options on packaging that I could see during the ordering process. The print from the AdramaPix was much closer to what I see on my monitor. To be fair, my monitor isn't really calibrated so this probably could have gone either way.

CAKE - Fashion Nugget

A tank of gas and 4 ink cartridges for the home printer.

Built To Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love

Got up early so I can get in an extra hour of work. Found my car with a flat tire, only to find my spare is also basically flat (which I had never really looked at in 10 years I've had my car). Couldn't find my portable tire inflator, so called AAA. The AAA operator didn't sound all that concerned knowing that my car in the driveway. Called work to let them know I'll be late. Finds the tire inflator (well, my wife did just before she had to leave for her work). Confirmed the inflator is working then called the AAA to cancel. The AAA operator sounded annoyed about it. Inflated my tires, which took a lot longer than I expected. Tried to get back in the house to grab the essentials (e.g., wallet, etc.) only to find I had locked myself out. After cursing at myself for a while, remembered about the spare key in my backpack, which was in my car. Arrived at work an hour late instead of hour early.