Blogs

I read this book on Safari Books Online using a web browser and an iPad. I have read the “From Snapshots to Great Shots” for the 7D and the G12 and they were pretty good. So I decided to give the one for the 5D Mark III a try and it did not disappoint. Unlike the books “Canon EOS 5D Mark III by James Johnson” and “Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie” this book tells you not only about the features and functions of the Canon 5D Mark III but also tells you why you may choose one setting over another. ...

Dreamhost’s Web SiteAfter 4 years at my previous host I had become pretty unhappy with them. I was running a WordPress blog and a PHP/MySQL based app to track an office football pool along with a handful of pictures for clients to download and prototype websites for conducting usability tests. But I was regularly having issues, mostly based around the web site being really slow. So after reading a post in Lifehacker about the best personal web host which highlighted Dreamhost as the best option, I decided to make the jump. ...

I read both of these books using Safari Books Online by O’Reilly Media. They are very similar books and both of them are very similar to the owners manual that comes with the Canon 5D Mk III. But they do present the information in a way that is much easier to understand and retain than the manual. What is missing here is an answer to the question, “Why would I use that setting instead of the other?” You will have to find some other book or better yet books to explain that. Even better, get out there and experiment like crazy. Buy a cheap mannequin off eBay to use as a practice subject and take pictures until your camera stops working. ...

Last weekend I attended the Vintage Computer Festival and Apple Pop-Up Museum at the empty CompUSA store off of Holcomb Bridge Road. It was nice to see someone doing something with one of these abandoned storefronts. It was great fun seeing all of the old Apple, Commodore, Atari, and other computers and gaming consoles. It all made me very nostalgic, but not so much as I would trade in any of my current computers for any of them. It was really amazing what we were able to produce using those old machines. ...

I read this book using Safari Books Online from O’Reilly Media. Brian Smith is an amazing photographer and has a personality to match. He is able to quickly make a personal connection with people from all walks of life and create photographs that highlight their personality and emotion. “Secrets of Great Portrait Photography” gives us insight to the methods Brian uses to get close to his subjects and capture images that make the client, usually magazine creative directors, and the subject happy with the results. ...

I bought this book from Audible and listened to it using the Audible app on my iPhone. This is a short story that is part of a series of Old Man’s War stories. William Dufris does a great job with these stories, but his performance was the highlight of this one. I am feeling bored of the Old Man’s War universe and this story will be the last one I listen to for awhile, in fact I may never revisit it. All of the characters have become stereotypes to me and it feels like there is nothing new here. Nothing suprising, nothing deep and thoughtful, none of what drew me into John Scalzi’s worlds and stories to begin with. That was also my problem with Last Colony. ...

I bought this book from Audible and listened to it using the Audible app on my iPhone. This is the second book in the Gentleman Bastard series. I really enjoyed the The Lies of Locke Lamora and really looked forward to listening to this one and it did not disappoint. Michael Page turns in another fantastic performance with subtle accents and speech patterns galore. ...

I bought this book from Audible and listened to it with the Audible app on an iPhone. I really like Seth Godin, but I don’t like this book. The message is lost on me; it feels very repetitive; and it feels a lot like something I have heard before. I recommend Re-reading Linchpin instead of reading this book. From the publisher: ...

I bought this book from Audible and listened to it using my iPhone and the Audible app. This is the third book in John Scalzi’s series Old Man’s War. This story did not work for me, there were to many GLARING plot holes and things left half-baked. This is the first of Scalzi’s books that I didn’t really enjoy. It was ok, just not as original a story I have come to expect from him. ...

I am not sure how this book ended up on my shelf, it was probably on one of my “Dave Ramsey Recommends” buying sprees. Poke the Box is all about getting started and executed on your ideas. For me it is kind of like having a personal cheerleader. This book picked up my spirits at a time when I was feeling down, now I hope I am able to put some of it to good use. ...