Monthly Archives: August 2009

Interesting Links, August 2009

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Interesting Links for August 2009.

  • The Evolution of Western Wear – How the cowboy introduced America’s only indigenous fashion category. In True West magazine. Thanks to @EstherSchindler for sharing the link.
  • Wis. jury: Father guilty in prayer death case – A central Wisconsin man accused of killing his 11-year-old daughter by praying instead of seeking medical care was found guilty Saturday of second-degree reckless homicide. The child’s death is tragic — can her father still believe? On MSNBC.com. Thanks to @derekcbart on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • Palin Spokespeople Deny Divorce Rumor – Darn. On CBSNews, which is a tiny bit more reliable than the other sources quoted on the divorce rumor.
  • Todd and Sarah Palin to divorce – Yeah, the family values poster woman. Is it true?
  • The Death of Journalism (Gawker Edition) – Ian Shapira writes about how Gawker ripped off an article he wrote for the Washington Post and what acts like that mean for the future of journalism. The piece highlights something I’ve been saying for a long time: blogs like Gawker and Huffington Post are building content based on the hard work of people not on their payrolls. There’s something ethically WRONG with this. But what’s worse is that when those people are no longer being paid to write, who will be doing the journalism? Thanks to @estherschindler on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • Fires around the Mediterranean – The Big Picture – Boston.com – Over the past few weeks, high temperatures and strong winds have fueled a number of devastating fires in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Spain, France, Italy and Greece have had hundreds of thousands of acres of forest and farmland devastated, dozens of homes destroyed and at least seven people killed, including six Spanish firefighters. Many of the fires have been contained, but much work remains, aided by the recent arrival of somewhat cooler temperatures. (35 photos total) From The Big Picture on Boston.com. Thanks to @DonPerreault on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • Can Do – And the Pursuit of Happiness Blog – NYTimes.com – Read it and LEARN. On the NYTimes.com. Thanks to @DonPerreault for sharing the link on Twitter.
  • ‘High Risk, High Reward’ – John McCain Was Looking for a Way to Shake Up His Campaign. He Took a Surprising Gamble on a Relative Unknown. By Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson. Adapted from the book “The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election.” Thanks to @giaghani for sharing the link.
  • Bing Search Tainted by Pro-Microsoft Results – Just as Bing is gaining popularity and market share, some disturbingly “pro-Microsoft” search results rear their ugly heads. On CIO.com. Thanks to @EstherSchindler on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • The Complete Guide to Going Paperless – You already pay your bills online and get electronic statements, but there are even more ways you can stop killing innocent trees and wasting time and money dealing with paper. It’s time we went paperless. On Lifehacker.
  • The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan – CNN reports that young woman is suing her college because she could not get a job after graduating. Looks like someone is about to get a lesson in entitlement. Thanks to @jodene for sharing this link.
  • 26 Places to Find Free Multimedia for Your Blog – Nothing makes a blog post more eye-catching than a great header image, but not all publishers have artistic talent. And even accomplished digital creatives often crave some found material to start from or work with in a project. Luckily for all of the above, sources abound for finding a compelling photo to grab your readers’ eyes and draw them in, or to locate fresh multimedia to remix. Thanks to @estherschindler for sharing the link.
  • Does Atheism Make Life Meaningless? – Life is as happy and meaningful as you make it. On Unreasonable Faith. Thanks to @DonPerrault on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • Daring Fireball: Ninjawords: iPhone Dictionary, Censored by Apple – Apple requires you to be 17 years or older to purchase a censored dictionary that omits half the words Steve Jobs uses every day. On Daring Fireball. Thanks to @mjvalente on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • Smiley Face Atheists: Survey Finds Non-Believers to Be Upbeat — Politics Daily – A new study of some 5,800 non-believers reports that contrary to popular conceptions of atheists as crabby misanthropes, they in fact tend to be as happy as their believing brethren, and are in fact more satisfied than people who are uncertain in their beliefs, or in their unbeliefs. On Politics Daily. Thanks to @DJGrothe on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • Maddow calls out GOP operatives behind healthcare mobs – On Wednesday night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow named names and called out Republican operatives and organizations that are “generating exploitative, manufactured, strategically deployed outrage” to benefit their corporate clientele. On Raw Story.
  • Conservatism And Healthcare – What do you want, GOP? A permanent populist culture-war? Or actual solutions to pressing problems? Let us know when you’ve matured enough to answer that question. On The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan. Thanks to @jodene for sharing the link.
  • Best Movie Food Scenes of All Time – Inside Movies – Great list, with clips. On MovieFone.com. Thanks to @estherschindler on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • You Do Not Have Health Insurance | The Baseline Scenario – Right now, it appears that the biggest barrier to health care reform is people who think that it will hurt them. According to a New York Times poll, “69 percent of respondents in the poll said they were concerned that the quality of their own care would decline if the government created a program that covers everyone.” Since most Americans currently have health insurance, they see reform as a poverty program — something that helps poor people and hurts them. If that’s what you think, then this post is for you. On the Baseline Scenario. Thanks to @jodene on Twitter for sharing the link.
  • How much disk space did Snow Leopard really save? – Learn more about why/how Snow Leopard saves disk space. By Cary Millsap.
  • http://www.macworld.com/article/142423/2009/08/snow_leopard_review.html – Apple has spent the last decade building and improving Mac OS X, fusing the classic Mac OS and technology acquired from Steve Jobs’s Next into an impressive mainstream operating system that’s widely considered the best in its class. But after a decade of constant advancement and regular operating-system upgrades, Apple has taken a pause with the release of Snow Leopard, also known as Mac OS X 10.6. Instead of adding hundreds of new features, Apple has chosen to use Snow Leopard to cut ties with the past, plan for the future, and take dead aim on its present competition. Read more in this Macworld review.
  • Mac OS X v10.6: About incompatible software – Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard is designed to protect your Mac from certain incompatible software that can quit unexpectedly or cause other issues in Mac OS X v10.6. When you install Snow Leopard or migrate to Snow Leopard, known-incompatible software is moved to a folder named Incompatible Software on your hard drive. Snow Leopard also prevents known-incompatible software from opening. If you see an “Incompatible software” message, contact the software’s vendor or visit their website for a later, compatible version. Read this article to learn more.
  • Mac OS X v10.6: About gamma 2.2 – To better serve the needs of consumers and digital content producers, Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard uses a gamma value of 2.2 by default. In versions of Mac OS X prior to 10.6, the default system gamma value was 1.8. Using the capabilities of ColorSync, the gamma value of 2.2 is automatically applied and seamlessly transitions your display, images and videos to the new gamma value. If you are a graphic or video professional, read this for more information.
  • YouTube – Snow Leopard and 64-Bit Mode – Learn more about Snow Leopard running 64-bit applications and whether you need to worry about if your Mac boots using the 64-bit kernel. On YouTube, by MacMost Video.
  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Compatibility – MacInTouch’s report on Snow Leopard Compatibility.
  • Info on Snow Leopard for Photographers – Scott Bourne discusses compatibility issues for photographers using Snow Leopard. On PhotoFocus.com.

Still Alive and Kicking

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Just very busy and so off-the-grid it isn’t funny.

I wanted to take a moment to assure readers that I’m still among the living. I’ve just been very busy traveling, spending most of each day on the road and making overnight stops where Internet access is just not an option.

I hope to be able to put out a new blog post about my travels, as well as some photos, later today.

Stay tuned.

A Tale of Two Helicopter Operators

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And why neither got my business.

We were in Glacier National Park last weekend. It was our first visit. Glacier is an amazing place, full of granite mountains, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. It’s the kind of place that’s perfect to explore by helicopter.

There are two helicopter operators in West Glacier, right outside the park. Here’s our experience with them.

Mom-and-Pop

The first one you come to as you’re driving in from the west is the “mom and pop” operation my friend, Jim, had recommended. Jim operates Big Country Helicopters in Coeur d’Alene, ID and had worked with this particular operator to give one of his clients a helicopter flight over the park. This operator has just one helicopter, a Bell Jet Ranger, which seats 4 passengers. It’s the perfect size helicopter for the location — two couples or a family of four can fly together but it’s likely to be cost-effective enough to take just two passengers. I assumed that like most smaller tour operators, this operator was more likely to offer a personalized tour experience.

Unfortunately, when we stopped in to the office for this operator at about 5:10 PM on a Saturday afternoon, the office was closed. There was no sign on the door with hours or a phone number. There were no brochures to take away. There was nothing. It was as if they weren’t interested in doing any business. Oddly, there were two vehicles and the helicopter parked at the property. But no one was around to help us or even tell us where we might be able to get help.

As they say in Twitterland: #FAIL.

The Big Operator

The other operator in West Glacier flies Bell Long Rangers — the same helicopter I flew at the Grand Canyon back in 2004. These helicopters seat six passengers, but two face backwards. I’ve sat in one of those backwards-facing seats and I can tell you that it sucks. This operator had three helicopters, one of which was parked right alongside the road on a little hill — kind of like a car dealer might show off a car or truck to passersby. There was some activity by one of the helicopters; some park employees in uniform and a pilot in a flight suit scurrying around like they were prepping for a flight. No tourists around, though.

A sign on the door said they were open from 8 AM to 8 PM. We went inside. A woman greeted us before we could get to the counter. The conversation went something like this:

Woman: “Can I help you?”

Me: “We’re interested in a helicopter flight.”

Woman: “Well, we’re done for today. Do you want to book something for tomorrow?”

Me: “Well, can you tell us about the flights? Where do they go?”

Woman: “There’s a half hour flight for $110 per person and a one-hour flight for $220 per person. There’s another couple going out on a 9 AM flight tomorrow. I can book you on that.”

Me: “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. We’ll think about it.”

I didn’t have much to think about. The woman had lost my business by making three mistakes:

  • If your sign says you’re open until 8 PM, don’t tell potential customers that you’re “done for the day” at 5:15 PM.
  • If your customer asks a question, answer it. Don’t answer questions that aren’t asked until after you’ve answered the one that was. I didn’t ask how long the flights were or what they cost. I asked where they went. I expected to see some kind of map of the park with a flight route.
  • Ask your customers what time is convenient for them. Don’t try to put them into a time slot that’s convenient for you.

Her attitude was so typical of the big helicopter operators. They can save it for the tourists who don’t know better. I worked for an operation like that and I won’t subject myself to their type of “service.”

No Helicopter Tour of Glacier National Park

So we didn’t get to see Glacier from the air. That doesn’t mean I won’t. I’ll be checking into the rules and regulations for flying over the park. Maybe next year, on our way to Washington, we’ll take a northern route.

Wenatchee to Walla Walla to Lewiston to Coeur d’Alene

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On the road again.

Those of you who read this blog regularly, may have begun wondering why I’m not posting as regularly as usual. The truth of the matter is that I’m traveling, on a long road trip from Washington State to Arizona.

We’re doing the trip at a leisurely pace, with stops 100 to 250 miles apart. No rush; our friend John is watching over our place. (Hi, John!)

Wenatchee to Walla Walla

Our first leg was mostly in the farmland of Central Washington, ending up in the wheat- and wine-growing area of Walla Walla. Walla Walla has special significance to me; twice it was listed as one of the top ten places I should live by FindYourSpot.com.

Ghost Photo

Some places just scream to be photographed at night. (Hey, is that a ghost?)

We spent two nights in the Four Seasons RV Resort, which I rate 4 out of 5 stars. (Partially wooded and relatively quiet, park-like setting with tall trees and shade, pet friendly, washer/dryers, limited WiFI, affordable.) During the day, we explored Walla Walla, ate in great restaurants (I recommend Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen), visited wineries, and went out on the bike trail. In the evening, we did a little photo shoot of this weird spot at the back of the RV park property.

Walla Walla to Lewiston

It was just 100 miles or so to Lewiston, ID. We drove on route 12, which wound through small farm towns and wheat fields. It’s mostly past harvest now, so the fields were left with short-cut tan stalks of wheat or plowed brown dirt.

After the Sun

View from our campsite. Not too shabby, huh?

In Lewiston, we stayed at Hell’s Gate State Park, which I rate 5 out of 5. (Wooded, riverfront sites with full or partial RV hookups, beach, bike trail.) The idea was to hop on a jet boat tour down Hell’s Canyon, but we soon discovered that all day trips are 11 hours long and half-day trips don’t run regularly. Since Lewiston isn’t exactly our idea of a great destination, we only stayed one night.

Lewiston to Coeur d’Alene

We drove up to Coeur d’Alene on route 95, which winds through some of the prettiest rolling hills and wheat fields you could imagine. We had a little adventure when we pulled off the main road in search of a picnic lunch site and found ourselves, pulling our trailer, on a narrow dirt road used by large trucks for some unknown (to us) purpose. We got about 3 miles down the road, trailed closely by a very large truck, before we found a place to turn around. We wound up having lunch at a cafe in Plummer, ID. Can’t say I recommend it, although the peach pie was good.

Dropping in at Cabella's

Jim took us to lunch at Cabella’s. (Pardon the crappy quality of this cell phone photo.)

In Coeur d’Alene, we camped at the Blackwell Island RV Park, which I rate 2 out of 5. (Full sun on all sites, closely packed sites, gravel driveways not long enough for rigs, a list of rules longer than my arm, sporadic WiFi, riverfront location, expensive.) After exploring a beautiful and vibrant downtown area, we met up with my friend Jim and his wife, Teresa for dinner at 315 in the Greenbriar Inn. Jim runs a helicopter charter business remarkably similar to mine. On Wednesday, he took us for a helicopter tour of the area that included landing at Cabellas at State Line for lunch. I spent the evening catching up on some work while Mike went swimming in the Spokane River with Jack the dog.

Coeur d’Alene to Glacier National Park?

Well, that’s the plan, anyway. We hope to be on the road by 8 AM. More later.

Light Matters

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Two shots prove it.

We spent Monday night camped out along the east shore of the Snake River in Hell’s Gate State Park, just south of Lewiston, ID. The river is held back by a dam downstream to form a long, meandering lake that has plenty of boat traffic, including the “jet boats” that take people upriver through Hell’s Canyon. All that traffic makes for rough water, but I reasoned that early in the morning, around dawn, the water could be pretty calm. With first light on the gold-colored hills across the river from our campsite, I might be able to photograph some interesting reflections without a lot of effort.

While the idea of waking before dawn to take a few photos might seem like a chore to some folks, it isn’t usually a big deal to me. I’m usually awake by 6 AM anyway, and that was certainly the case on Tuesday morning. So I threw on some clothes, grabbed my camera and tripod, and went out along the path behind the camper to see what I could shoot.

What I ended up with was a great example of how the quality and color of light can change a photo.

Before the Sun

This first shot reveals an interesting scene in gray light. Photo details: 1/50 sec, f4.8, ISO 200, 35mm

I set up and framed my shot. The reflections were as good as I’d hoped and the shots achieved the almost mirror-like look of land reflected on water. But the light wasn’t quite right for the first bunch of shots. Even after the sun rose, it failed to cast its rays on the scene before me. For a while, it was the high hills behind me, to the east, that kept the sunlight off my scene. Then it was a cloud. The light was gray and colorless.

After the Sun

This shot was taken a minute later, when the cloud had moved away, revealing the sun. Photo details: 1/80 sec, f4.8, ISO 200, 35mm

Then, suddenly, the cloud slipped away and the low sun shone directly on the scene before me. It lit up with a golden glow and I snapped another photo. This shot was taken exactly one minute after the previous one. Rather than slowly creep down the scene to illuminate it, the sun shined full on the scene, all at once.

It wasn’t until I reviewed these two shots in quick succession in my camera that I noticed the dramatic difference you see here. These images were not manipulated in any way in an image editing program other than to downsize them for the Web. I think they speak for themselves as they are.

I’ve read a lot about photography, especially in the past year or so. One of the things I read recently was a “tip” by a photographer who basically said not to bother shooting in bad light. These two photos do a pretty good job of explaining why light is so important. And while I won’t tell anyone not to shoot in bad light, I hope these photos help them understand how light can make a difference in their photography.