So I mentioned that I was getting a Kindle. What did I think of it? Well, rather than re-post, I’ll just link:

After 12 hours.

One week later.

I’ve been eying the Kindle since it first came out. The Kindle 2 looks really sweet. Been kind of going back and forth on whether or not I wanted one, needed one, would use it if I got one. But then I found Stanza and started reading books on my iPhone. And then of course, the Kindle iPhone app came out. Now granted, the iPhone isn’t the ideal book reading device, but it’s not that bad. Really! I’ve gone through several full books over the last few months, totally on my iPhone. While Stanza is a much better app, the Kindle app has the benefits of ease of buying, larger selection, and cheaper price. Also, the ability to download the first 2 chapters of a book to preview for free - you just can’t beat that. I have one book I’m in the middle of, two more in cue in my iPhone, and at least a half dozen previews. I’m reading so much more than I have in years. So more than ever, the Kindle just seemed to be calling to me.

Finally, it was Tom Ortega’s blog post that pushed me over the edge:

http://lordbron.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/i-love-my-kindle-2-heres-why/

So tonight I clicked on his link and he’ll be getting a nice commission from the sale of a new Kindle 2.

I think it was genius for Amazon to create the iPhone app and let users read Kindle books without buying a Kindle. I bet whoever’s vision that was had a hard time selling it, but I think it’s great. First of all, they still get the book sales. Sales they probably would not have gotten otherwise. I guarantee they’ve seen a bump in ebook sales since the app went live. And second, I’m sure there are many like me who have gotten hooked on reading again and are now throwing in the cash for a Kindle. Another great point about it is that the iPhone app and Kindle work together. You read up to page 300 on one, it syncs to the other and you take up where you left off. It’s not an either / or situation. You can have both and USE both, seamlessly. Brilliant. So when you upgrade to a Kindle, you aren’t switching, you are adding a device to your ebook hardware network.

Anyway, I should get my Kindle on Friday. Will definitely be posting more in depth about it after I’ve had a chance to use it.

To go with my new camera, I now have a new piece of software that I am in love with - LightRoom 2. Big surprise that it’s yet another Adobe product.

When I was on a Windows machine (been Mac only for two years as of this month), I was first really into Picassa, and then discovered Photoshop Elements. I really loved the photo management and categorizing aspects of Elements on Windows, but when I switched over to the Mac I found that the Mac version of Elements really only did the image processing stuff. All the catalogue stuff was in the Windows version only. I looked aorund at a bunch of other photo management / editing packages but didn’t really find anything I liked. Finally settled on iPhoto as the default solution.

But honestly, iPhoto sucks. The management features are OK, but seriously, what’s up with locking all your photos away in that library bundle. And within that you have your originals in one folder and edited copies in another. All that’s fine if you only ever use iPhoto, but the minute you want to move to something else, you are screwed. It’s photo management for your grandma. Hide all those scary JPGs away. Don’t want to see them messing up your file system. And the editing features in there are pretty minimal too.

Then a month or so ago, Picassa finally made it over to the Mac. I installed it and started using it. It’s definitely a step up from iPhoto. A big step.It’s actually really great software, and hell, it’s free. Keeps all your photos wherever you want them, untouched. Applies edits via metadata that only become permanent if you save or export the photo. Really nice. I highly recommend it, especially if you are on a budget.

But I guess I got greedy. I recalled that I had a copy of LightRoom 1 down in the basement somewhere. I’d gotten it free a year or so before for participating in something at Adobe. But by then I was already in iPhoto apathy and never even took it out of the shrinkwrap. I dug through the boxes that were still unpacked from our move into the house, and found it, unshrunkwrapped it and installed it.

Wow! What awesome softwared. What I didn’t realize is that LightRoom is a direct descendant of PhotoShop Elements, along with all the management stuff that I had loved on the Windows version, only even more grown up. And some really rockin’ editing features too. After 5 or 10 minutes of playing around with LightRoom 1, I knew that was the software I had been looking for, in a box in the basement all this time. Seconds later, I was on the Adobe site shelling out the $99 for the version 2 upgrade.

I guess it’s $299 for the full version, but if you’re serious about keeping track of your photos and making them look good, I still think it’s worth it. It’s simple on the surface but has some serious depth. Like Picassa, your photos are saved wherever you put them, and edits are applied as metadata. Meaning your original images are never touched unless you save the edited version over the original.

Anyway, I recommend Picassa if you want to save money, and LightRoom 2 if you are ready to go all out. I’ll probably talk more about specific features as I discover them or get excited about them.

A few weeks ago, I made the plunge and bought myself this little beauty:

(photo taken on my iPhone, oh the irony!)

That’s a Panasonic DMC-LX3. AKA, “the awesome”.

I think I first took notice of this model last year in Brighton UK at Flash on the Beach, looking at my good friend, Marc Thiele’s. Here’s Marc:

I met him again in Amsterdam in February at FiTC, and seeing his camera again, I knew I had to get it. So, when I got back to Boston, I shopped around on line. But the damn things were backordered just about everywhere, unless I wanted to buy one for $200-300 more than list price on eBay. I went out to San Jose for the 360iDev conference still without my new toy. But while out there, I found an online retailer that had them for a reasonable price and placed the order. It arrived right after I got home.

The camera is fantastic. It’s got a really retro form factor - compact yet boxy, sort of the size of your usual compact but that lens sticking out just lets you know there’s something cool going on there. And cool it is. The lens is from Leica. And in fact, Leica puts out a nearly identical camera, the DLUX 4. Lots of other really cool features - it shoots RAW and JPEG, has a hot shoe for flash or other attachments, shoots in 4×3, 3×2 or 16×9, up to 10 megapixels, HD video, has image stabilization, multi-exposure, auto/manual/macro focus, exposure and format bracketing, a great LCD display, and all the other usual bells and whistles.

I’m coming from a Canon S3IS, which I also loved. Two things I really miss about the Canon - the electronic viewfinder and the 12x optical zoom. I really got used to the viewfinder, found it much better than holding the camera away from me, trying to look at the screen, expecially on sunny days. You can get an optical viewfinder for the LX3, which slides on the hot shoe, but it’s outrageously expensive and has mixed reviews. A lot of people are looking into cheaper 3rd party slide on viewfinders, as well, but none seem to really do the trick. And the zoom on the LX3 is negligible. 2.5x. I really feel crippled on that one aspect, but it’s forcing me to think differently about how I take pictures and honestly opening up new ideas. So both of those are things I miss, but am learning to deal with and even seeing positively.

One thing is I’m taking a hell of a lot more photos these days. The S3IS is great, but it’s large. Not as large as a DSLR, but still large enough that you really have to think about it and ask yourself, “do I want to lug this around?” The LX3 can literally fit in your pants pocket - if you have baggy pants - and without a doubt in your coat pocket. So it’s with me everywhere these days, and I’m taking pictures constantly.

And with that, I end this post. What? No pictures even??? Not yet. Go look at my Flickr stream if you can’t wait: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bit-101/ But I’ll surely be posting things here before long.

Yesterday, the family went out to the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s family day concert. Our second time going. It’s pretty cool because it’s early in the day, you can bring your kids, you don’t have to dress up, and the concert lasts just an hour.

Usually I think one hour would be over the limit for most kids, but they have someone who talks between each piece, explaining it in fun ways, telling them what to listen for, etc. So most of the kids have fun and stay pretty entertained for the whole hour.

And of course, choosing to play pieces from Harry Potter helps. Not to mention the Imperial March from Star Wars. Kristine has never even seen Star Wars, but she perked right up and said, “I know that song!” I don’t know how, but somehow it seeps in I guess.

The building itself is beautiful. Over 100 years old, with all the orginal seats intact.

We were on the first balcony, fourth row, just about in the center.

Part of my master plan to post more is using the Wordpress iPhone app to enable posting on the go.

This is a test of that, along with a gorgeous iPhone photo.

I hate when you go to a blog where the blogger hasn’t posted anything in months, except for the occasional, “I haven’t posted anything in months” post, with promises to post more.

And yet, this is that post.

I’ve actually been thinking a lot about posting here, but just need to kickstart it and get into the habit. I have another Japan trip coming up in late June anyway, so I want to go into that on a roll, and not have this be a blog where I post once a year about my trip.

Er… so yeah, I promise to post more. blah blah blah. Now see if I make good on it.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Made a vow to do as many of these things as possible

One of those lists that goes around. Kind of corny, but made me realized I’ve lived a sheltered life.

Well, not NEW new.

A few weeks ago we took our 2000 Ford Taurus Wagon in for an inspection. It failed. Not a huge surprise as the engine light had been coming on intermittently, and more recently was staying on pretty steadily. So we took it back in last monday to get it looked at and it was pretty bad. Needed to either rebuild the engine or get a new engine. Wasn’t really worth it. So Friday we went looking for a new car and came home with a 2004 Subaru Outback, LL Bean edition. Something basically like this:

Looks like new. Relatively low mileage. Got a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty with it. Drove it home the same day. So I’m pretty happy with it.

Kristine was pretty excited about it until we started driving home. I looked back and she was silently sobbing. I asked what was wrong and she said, “I miss my old car.” One of those moments where you feel bad, but can’t help laughing at the same time. Anyway, she was fine after a bit, and got excited about the moon roof she can open and watch the sky and find airplanes, birds, and stars.

What is it about the term “ancient wisdom” that gets people so excited? Ancient wisdom, ancient secrets, 1000 year old lost technology, etc. What merit does that seem to give something? To me, ancient practices conjures up images of worshiping strange gods, cutting open birds to divine the future, blood letting and other barbaric “medical practices”, mummifying bodies to see them through to the after life, burning witches, on and on. You don’t see us turning to ancient wisdom to send probes to other planets, do genetic research, build computers, peer into quantum particles.

Sure, our modern discoveries are built on the top of older discoveries, many of which were valid. And those were built on things before that. But generally, successful, correct knowledge, survived and evolved, and for the most part the things that were lost and forgotten were lost and forgotten for a reason. Because they were ridiculous in the light of more modern discoveries.

Not to say that some valid knowledge might have been lost, but chances are that anything valid that was lost was not so deep, amazing, fundamental, and powerful that discovering it now is going to change everything. Furthermore, if it was anything remotely useful, it was probably rediscovered or dreamt up at some later point in at least some similar form anyway.

Also, not to say that occasionally some older approach to doing something isn’t occasionally picked up and revived. Often, this has to do with some elegant simplicity in a way of doing something that we are already doing in a much more complex way. But this hardly translates to “ancient wisdom” or “secrets”.

Generally, you see these terms being thrown about by someone trying to sell you something - some alternative weight loss program based on the secrets of the ancient Egyptians, a cancer cure based on some long lost secret of the Mayans. Stupid stuff.

Anyway, I don’t know where that came from. Just something that has bugged me for a while.