New toy #1: birthday present

01 Jul 2010 2 Comments

by megan in Material, Photos, Technology Tags: , , , , ,

I’ve had a great point-and-shoot, pocket-sized camera for a little over a year now: a burgundy Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS.  It was a tremendous upgrade from my previous Olympus Camedia D-425: easier to use, bigger screen, clearer photos.  It fits snugly in my purse so I can be ready to take a shot whenever the mood strikes me.  That said, while I love that little camera, I’ve always felt like there was something lacking.

So, imagine my delight when my birthday rolled around this year and Hubby presented me with a truly awesome gift: a Sony DSLR-A230.  This bad boy is big, hefty, and the closest thing to my dad’s old manual camera without using actual film.

One of the things that bothered me about the PowerShot was the inability to focus on the precise object I wanted.  Don’t get me wrong – the autofocus is quick and accurate.  But oftentimes the camera and I disagreed about the subject of the photo and thus on what to focus.  It made for some frustrating photo-taking.

The Sony, on the other hand, while it can easily be set to automatic, encourages everything manual, from focus to aperture to shutter speed to probably a lot of other stuff since I know squat about the workings of manual cameras.  But that is the great thing about it being digital: I can learn all about all those intricate functions of light and science by experimenting, and I can do it all without wasting precious film.

So far, I have only found one problem with the camera, and it has nothing to do with the actual photography.  The aforementioned manual camera that once belonged to my father had been sitting in a cabinet for about ten years.  Upon realizing that he had completely forgotten about it, and asking my mother for permission, that piece of nostalgia is now sitting on my desk, waiting for a new battery and ready to go again.  Along with the camera came a great soft case, some extra lenses (super zoom!) and – the best part of all – the shoulder strap that kept that camera and my father inseparable during my youth.  And herein lies the problem: the metal clasps that attach that strap to a camera are far too big and bulky for the likes of my new toy.

My hope is to get a new lens (macro zoom, fisheye, wide angle, etc.) every year. (Those things are expensive, you know, and I’m not made of money.)  I also hope to eventually know enough about the particulars of fine photography that I won’t have to spend two whole minutes setting up a shot to get it just right.

In the meanwhile, check out some of the shots I’ve taken so far:

Mozart: Adagio in b minor, K. 540

08 Jan 2010 1 Comment

by megan in Cinema, Music, Technology Tags: , , , , , , ,

Since acquiring the Roxio Easy VHS to DVD hookup, I’ve been kind of obsessed with transferring home movies to digital format.  I’ve taken all the home movies from my parents’ house with the intention of preserving my childhood memories on the computer and eventually YouTube.  I’ve even taken to raiding my friends’ houses for their home movies.  I may be going a bit overboard.

Among the videos I unearthed was my senior piano recital from college, almost seven years ago.  While I’m the first to admit that it was not one of my best overall performances (read: there were several very noticeable mistakes), I did manage to pull a couple flawless gems from the relative muck.  One of those is Mozart’s Adagio in b minor, K. 540.

While not the most technically difficult piece I’ve ever played, the emotional investment in this piece was great.  There is a melancholy longing that is felt through almost painfully exquisite exposed simplicity.

Incidentally, I was incredibly fortunate to have the honor of being coached on this piece during a master class earlier in the year by the legendary Richard Goode, who is well known for his interpretation of Beethoven.  While everyone else in my studio was prepared with a Beethoven sonata, Mr. Goode seemed delighted at the opportunity to work with me on the Mozart.  Definitely one of the highlights of my musical career.

Please excuse the quality of the video; it was transferred from a quickly deteriorating VHS tape, and the person running the camera (which was supposedly set up on a tripod) didn’t have the steadiest hand at times.  That said, I’m impressed that the sound quality is as good as it is.

Roxio Easy VHS to DVD

02 Dec 2009 3 Comments

by megan in Cinema, Material, Technology Tags: , , , , , ,

I don’t remember having a lot of home movies made when I was a kid.  Some parents toted the video camera everywhere with them, recording each inconsequential moment of their precious little snowflakes’ lives.  The result was usually stacks of VHS tapes in a box or a closet, gathering dust for years because everyone was too embarrassed to watch them.

Because my parents were much more selective about what they captured with the camcorder (that, and the fact that I don’t remember even having a camcorder until I was almost in high school), our selection of home movies is rather limited. Most of them, in fact, are still on the teeny little tapes that came with the new technology of our camcorder – no more lugging around full-sized VHS tapes! – which also means that we probably can’t even watch them anymore, since I don’t think my parents even know where the camcorder is.

Speaking of watching home movies, and other VHS tapes, does anyone even own a VCR anymore?  My parents do, but I doubt that it’s hooked up.  My grandparents do, but they still don’t really know how to work it.  I was talking to a student of mine about VHS tapes and VCRs a while back, and she looked at me like I was making the concept up.

In any case, about the same time that I was rooting through a box of VHS tapes of my own, a friend of mine decided to hook up his VCR.  I found a few “home” tapes that had only my name on the label to indicate that something I did had been recorded.  We decided to see what was on the tapes.

Lo an behold, two of the tapes held my senior and graduate piano recitals!  I would have completely forgotten about them, had it not been for a sudden urge to hook up the VCR.  Of course, it’s not like I can show them to anyone, due to the previously stated disappearing VCR phenomenon.

Enter Roxio Easy VHS to DVD.  This is the best $80 I have spent all year. The hookup is really quite foolproof: you just connect the video and audio output cords from your VCR into the plugs provided in the box, which connect to a USB plug that hooks into your computer. The image and sound then plays through your computer via the newly installed program, and you can record as much or as little as you like. You can then edit the movie like you would any other in a program like iMovie and either burn the memories to DVD or publish embarrassing childhood moments to YouTube.

This nifty little gadget is available for both PC and Mac, though for some reason, the Mac version costs $20 more.

The only problem I have found is that the new digital files often take up quite a bit of room on one’s computer, especially if they are long clips.  However, if you have an external hard drive with an insane amount of space, this really shouldn’t be an issue.

Tune in tomorrow, when I post the real reason why I purchased this product.

NASA attacks the moon!

09 Oct 2009 4 Comments

by megan in Strange, Technology Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Gentle readers, I am feeling particularly lazy as of late.  So lazy, in fact, that I have asked a friend, the distinguished Mr. Otto von Kotzenmeister, to write a guest post for me. Enjoy!

I can live with the headline “NASA attacks the moon” or “NASA to bomb moon.”  I mean, it did catch my eye enough to have me read the article.  But when you get a smug newscaster from MSNBC with raised eyebrows prefacing a report with “…and there’s this item, we’ve decided to bomb the moon” it gives off a totally different vibe.  He goes on to show the computer simulated video of what will happen when NASA crashes it’s rocket into the moon (spoiler alert: it blows up), although with the amount of reverence they gave this story it would have been more than appropriate to play Yakety Sax in the background while showing it.

Of course, like any other red blooded American, at this point you must be thinking, “Yeah, sure, water on the moon, future missions, space exploration blah blah blaaaahh, how much am I paying for this?”  Well, MSNBC is right there with you wondering the same thing; they end the video with “This ‘moon bombing’ mission, by the way, is costing tax payers 79 [pause] million dollars.”  And I’m left wondering, do they really need to say that?  Are there comparable stories about the most recent mission in Iraq where they add that it has cost tax payers 900 billion dollars at the end of the story with a skeptical look on their face? Someone did the math (not me, I don’t do math) and this experiment cost each tax payer 26 cents if the cost were evenly distributed across the U.S. population.  That seems pretty worth it.  But no, let’s just rile people up instead until we are left with comments like these:

Why NASA spent alot of money to strike the moon even though our economic in the world is in trouble.  If hit the moon, earth’s surface and weather will be changed worst.  Sciencists [sic] know nothing but God knows. Does God allow?

I don’t think this is a good idea at all.  What if something goes terribly wrong? The moon should be left alone.

And my favorite:

Is money all that you all think that is important! The moon sound be left alone, NASA has to put their noses in everything and in somethings that should be left alone! WTF is your all’s problem get a life! It’s people like NASA who think that they know everything about outer space when really they don’t know diddly crap. LEAVE OUTER SPACE ALONE!!!! Up with space down with NASA!!!

Well, the attack on the moon happened early this morning and the earth and moon seem to be intact, and it’s raining now so I can only assume that the weather is still working.  But I’m 26 cents poorer, and so are you – I expect my moon house and hover-car before the world ends in 2012.

Experiment: internet abstinence

15 Jun 2009 4 Comments

by megan in Blogging, Technology Tags: , , ,

Every once in a while I get the feeling that my life is being sucked away by all the time I spend puttering around on the internet.  This is especially true after a couple of weeks of dreary weather and friends who have left to go on vacation. The only logical course of action in a situation like that is to spend all one’s time playing flash games, reading blogs and stalking people on Facebook. However, like most repetitive activities done whilst bored, after a time that routine gets really old.

I can’t help but wonder if I’m slightly addicted to the internet.  While it’s not quite the same taboo as being addicted to internet porn, there’s something unsettling about realizing I can’t get through my day without checking the weather channel more times than I brush my teeth.

This week, however, promises to be different.  For one thing, the weather is supposed to be lovely. For another, I only have a couple students to teach, so my days are relatively free.  For yet another, my long-lost fiance, who I have not seen in a couple of months, is riding into town in his noble Subaru.  Tonight.  And staying for a whole week.

In an effort to wean myself back into the real world, I’ve decided to try an experiment this week: internet abstinence.  Email will be checked once per day, since that is my primary method of communication with the outside world, but the internet browser will remain unopened.  Blogs will remain unread.  Free flash games will remain unplayed.  This blog will remain unupdated. (Admittedly, the change won’t be seen much here, since my blogging seems to have deteriorated into a once-a-week phenomenon, but you get the picture.)

So, gentle readers, I will return in a week, hopefully with tales of wonder from the real world, and hopefully without too many symptoms of withdrawal.  You can expect an onslaught of comments on your own blogs when I get myself caught up. Later, alligators!

To tweet or not to tweet

21 May 2009 11 Comments

by megan in Technology Tags: , , , , , ,

That is the question these days, isn’t it?

It seems like everyone I know has gotten on board the Twitter bandwagon. Every day I see more friends on Facebook posting statuses announcing their virgin tweets.

I have to confess, I’m not sure if I’m ready yet to take that plunge.

Sure, I like knowing what my friends are doing.  I’m nosy like that.  That’s why I stalk my friends on Facebook.  But my voyeuristic side could beat up my exhibitionist side.  I’m sure I would do much more following than leading, and that would sort of defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?

Besides the fact that complete strangers can follow you, as opposed to only your friends, I’m not sure I understand how Twitter is different from Facebook.  I mean, a tweet is just an update of what you’re doing at the moment.  How is that different from a Facebook status?  It all seems a bit redundant.

That said, while Facebook is reserved for people I have actually met in person, it’s not as if the rest of the world won’t know what’s going on with me.  That’s what this little corner of the internet is for.

Having once hijacked a friend’s Twitter account, I did notice something troublesome: the manner in which one searches for people.  It seems that unless you know a person’s username, you’re out of luck.  Real names seem to mean diddly-squat.  Case in point: I searched for someone by name, and I know for a fact that this person has a Twitter account.  Twitter pulled up no matches.  What’s the point in searching by name if the name you enter doesn’t matter?  Not having a way to search by email address without actually inviting that person isn’t exactly helpful, either.

In any case, I fear the possibility, nay, likelihood that any tweets made by me would quickly degenerate into updates from my phone as I walked through the apartment:

“Standing up now.”

“Tripping over the cat.  Why does she always walk directly in front of me?”

“Opening fridge door.  Can’t remember why.”

Right.  Because you all need to know that.

I’d like to have an open discussion about the merits (or lack therein) of the phenomenon that is Twitter.  Do you tweet?  Why do you do it?  Convince me that it’s a worthwhile use of my time and I’ll consider joining in the fun.