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Fun with a Fisheye Lens

dustin — 2011-05-16T03:20:37-04:00

2011 was my 6th year attending the Northern Voice personal media conference. I took the opportunity this time to play around more with my DSLR camera. I got to talking with photographer John Biehler about shooting using a fisheye lens, and he was kind enough to lend me his for the second day of the conference.

Fisheye is such a different perspective, it took me some time to get a feel for what it works well on. Here are a few of my favorite fisheye shots from the day (click to enlarge):

See all my photos in my 2011 Northern Voice photoset. The first half were with a 'regular' lens, and the second half are fisheye shots.

Northern Voice 2010 takeaways

dustin — 2010-05-07T22:52:16-04:00

Notes from day 1 of the 2010 Northern Voice personal media conference...

Bryan Alexander reminds us inject a sense of mystery into our (digital) lives.

How do you Find Your Voice?
Monica Hamburg says "Write, write and keep on writing. Don't be afraid to suck."

Dave Olson says "Take Risks and Hone your Craft with practice. Your voice comes out of your personal experiences."

The Cunting Linguist said "Write for yourself. Create excellent content. Be yourself online and don't pull your punches."

Taylor Loren ended the day with a hilarious take on relationships in the digital age. She had artistic slideshow technique, and maybe works with my cousin.

PS: Lunch chatting with the creator of Get out of Canada!

PPS: A friend of mine recently started a new blog about food and environment issues in Vancouver. I have been quite enjoying it, so check out: None too strong.

Banned Names

goodladd — 2009-01-04T16:28:35-05:00

The Onion AV Club has just released their annual and reliably hilarious list of the year's worst band names. Among my favourites this time round:

Illectrolytes
Gestapo Pussy Ranch
Anal Hearse
Meth Teeth
Piss Pissedofferson

Check it out!

Online Publishing Playgrounds in 2008

dustin — 2008-11-02T00:06:56-04:00

I've taken to sharing links and quick posts on my twitter account instead of here. Twitter is a real-time micro-blog network. It lets you write short posts and also watch a feed of messages from people you follow.

People can follow your posts without you following them back, making for an interesting usage slope: how much publishing vs reading. Wildly different uses result.

This blog remains the place for longer writing. A blog is a simple way of creating permanent public webpages. An important tool in the cyberage.

Why do I publish media online?
To share information.
To entertain.
To advertise my business.
To advertise causes I believe in.
To write the history of my life.
To help write the history of humanity.

Watch the video The Machine is Us for a powerful visualization.

What about Facebook?
I am still a fan of Facebook. I find it useful for events, photos, and entertainment. Facebook remains a walled garden, so it doesn't compete with blogs or twitter for real web publishing. It excels as a more private communications infrastructure.

One of the speakers at Interesting Vancouver scoffed at Facebook as a community tool. Well, my pictures from the last Vancouver Zombie Flashmob were mostly collectively tagged when I added them to the event page on Facebook. That is community building.

Do White People Love Maps?

vinny9 — 2008-03-17T17:29:47-04:00

Strange Maps blog, a site dedicated to unusual cartography.

I love maps so this place is right up my alley. I was drawn there by this map of Ludacris' ho-by-area-code map.

Cookie Monster Eating Noises

vinny9 — 2008-02-20T11:28:48-05:00

Montreal restaurant openings in 2008

After getting interested in the foodie scene mostly thanks to King Casey's erudite yet eminently readable food blog and a xmas gift of the Larousse Gastronomique (Hardcover) from me to Tash (which I've been perusing), I'm slowly getting interested in being hoity-toity with mah food. Thanks, King Casey!

Another good Montreal foodie blog is An Endless Banquet.

Vancouver bloggers on parade

dustin — 2008-02-13T04:10:11-05:00

Vancouver is a high-tech city; tons of people here are bloggers. Here's a clearing house of Vancouver based blogs that have ended up in my RSS reader. I don't actually end up reading them all now, but there's good stuff within.

Beyond Robson - vancouver events and commentary
Bicycle Buddha - zen and cycling
Boris Mann - technology and start-ups
Critical Mass - bicycle news and events
Frances Bula - city life and local politics
Geoff Meggs - local politics
IGDA Vancouver - international game developer association
Kris Krug - photography
Kurrs Broadcasting - music and books
Later Comics - post-apocalyptic web comic
Livable Region Coalition - working for a green future
LiveJournal Vancouver - open forum for LJ users
Metroblogging Vancouver
Random Dude - games and culture
Roland Tanglao - mobile technology
Scout Magazine - restaurants and food
SFU City Program - urban planning
Stephen Rees - transportation
Tim Bray - technology and culture
Vancouver is Awesome - events and fun
Vancouver Public Spaces Network
West End Girl - photography and life
Wired Cola - biking and beer

Vancouver bloggers: please comment with a link to your blog and a description of what you write about. The internets will check it out.

And say "hi" to me at this year's Northern Voice Vancouver blogger conference.

Blogs are so 1918

chrisdye — 2008-01-08T13:58:14-05:00

A man is posting his grandfather's letters from the First World War trenches on a blog, 90 years to the day from when they were written:

http://wwar1.blogspot.com/

Jerry? Is That You?

goodladd — 2007-12-14T00:21:16-05:00

The top 11 foods that would be better with bacon.

Make sure you click through to the very last one.

Who Is The Girliest Sillytecher Of Them All?

goodladd — 2007-04-21T14:19:46-04:00

Has anyone seen this before?

The Gender Genie

Based on the work of some Israeli linguists, this algorithm looks at a chunk of text and guesses whether or not the author was male or female. In the original study it guessed correctly something like 90% of the time, though the web-based tool has a lower success rate.

A quick rundown of the blogs I tested:

Me - Consistently guessed male
Adrienne - Mostly guessed female, one false male guess
Budman - Consistently guessed female
Sean - Mostly guessed male, one false female guess

I'm not sure what this proves, apart from the fact that Budman apparently has a very feminine writing style.

Awesome software only on the Mac

dustin — 2007-02-24T03:24:59-05:00

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Tools was one of the last sessions from day 1 of Northern Voice. It introduced a number of helpful tools for blogging or just being more productive on your computer. They're all listed on that page, so check them out (if you use a Mac). I'm going to be trying out a few when I have some more time, since a number of them looked awesome.

Everybody was free to go up and demo some of their fav tools, in true unconference style. It turned out that only Mac users did though. Throughout the session there were a few "Does this run on Windows?" questions asked. The answer was always "uh no... it's mac only... but there might be a windows equivalent" (except for the FireFox extensions, which are cross-platform). As a Macintosh Cult member, it made me smile to see the tables turned, in terms of software choice.

It's great to see the wealth of tools available on Mac OS X now. Full credit goes to Apple for giving out free dev tools, and winning massive mindshare amongst the creatives and hackers who are building the future of software.

Transit Camp update from Moose Camp

dustin — 2007-02-23T16:38:07-05:00

It's lunchtime at Moose Camp after some good sessions. I'm quite intrigued by the idea of a Vancouver Transit Camp. That link is just a temporary home on the northernvoice wiki as the idea gathers steam.

Apparently Toronto recently held a Transit Camp that was an open discussion organized by local transit enthusiasts. They were focused on bringing forth solutions (as opposed to whining about problems). They got participation from the city and the TTC and came out of it on a positive road.

Some people here are talking about putting together a GVRD Transit Camp and I hope it happens. Check the Vancouver link above if you want to get involved.

Vancouver bloggers chow down

dustin — 2007-02-23T04:46:01-05:00

The Northern Voice intro dinner was pretty awesome. The food was tasty, the chocolate fountain was flowing (until it broke), drinks were bountiful, and lots of bloggers were out and about...

Momentum is Vancouver's awesome bike magazine. They're looking for more writers - get in contact.

Beyond Robson is Vancouver's premier culture blog. They claim to not cover the mainstream.

Tim Bray is a famous geek and great technology writer. He brought his kids (and a cowboy hat).

Boris Mann is some kind of Canadian mafia kingpin. Thanks to him and the other chefs for the food.

The World Is Not Flat is a live-blogged memoir of a year-long trip around the world.

uberbabe I'll let you investigate for yourself.

Blogging in person

dustin — 2007-02-22T20:16:25-05:00

The next few days I'm going to be attending Vancouver's blogging conference Northern Voice.

Last year I was too late to get a ticket to both days, but I went to moose camp. I met some interesting people and had a fun time. So I'm going back for the full deal this year. There's a welcome dinner happening tonight to kick it off. Rumor is there will be a chocolate fountain there...

A comic for the likes of us

Mariana — 2007-01-29T08:48:33-05:00

Check out Monsieur Qu�b�cois.

And while I've got everyone's attention... Marc ("Chronomorph"): Get a blog!

Who's with me?

ReviewMe - a blog review marketplace

dustin — 2006-11-17T06:07:01-05:00

ReviewMe is a new site that is trying to setup a marketplace where bloggers can offer to write honest reviews in exchange for money. The money comes from companies or individuals who want to get reviews. I think it's an interesting idea. Getting reviews can be tough sometimes, so having a straight up chance to buy an honest one can be a good deal. I'm testing out the system with Lux Delux, having just put in a review request for a blog that looked interesting.

ReviewMe is also spicing things up with an initial pool of $25,000 that they are paying out to bloggers to review the service itself. That's what this post is: a sponsored post from ReviewMe. I will apparently get payed $30 in exchange for this review of their system. The pay-out is dependent on each individual blog's traffic standings (as best as ReviewMe can estimate them at least). The only imposition on the review is that it must be at least 200 words long, and it has to state that it is sponsored.

I had a bit of trouble signing up initially, but once inside their system is pretty good. They got some good early buzz, and there's a variety of interesting blogs that have signed up in their system. I'm awaiting the results of buying my review before making further judgement.

Vote for your favourite blag*

Mariana — 2006-11-15T12:05:22-05:00

Canadian Blog Awards.

Both Sillytech and Without Annette are up in a lot of the same categories, because I'm an idiot (but an idiot who cares). Still though, voting is anonymous and you can show your favourite wobsite* some love.

*not a typo.

Neale is back online

dustin — 2006-10-19T05:39:36-04:00

Those of you in Montreal will surely know Neale. His old blog was a favorite of mine, consistently writing about interesting things (or linking to them). It was a great loss to the blogosphere when his blog went silent. I'm now delighted to find out that he's got a new blog going on at www.WhimsyInc.com.

Everyone reading is encouraged to go check out his blog, where he writes about "Art, Games, Environment, Design, Etc." From his new stuff I like this post about a clever strip club ad (only in Montreal).

Praise like you should

Mariana — 2006-10-01T22:11:11-04:00

So apparently there are Canadian Blog Awards.

Go nominate some blogs you like.

I've taken the liberty of entering this fine blog, and Without Annette, in a few different categories. Voting begins November 15th, so I'll remind you then.

Canterbury Markup Language

vinny9 — 2006-08-29T12:25:29-04:00

A couple of choice posts by Chaucer on his blogge:

Chaucer reviews video games

Serpentes on a Shippe!

Last One, I Promise

goodladd — 2006-07-14T15:30:48-04:00

Okay, so I know I posted two videos yesterday, as well-- but believe me, when you're stuck in front of your computer all day doing GRE preparation, YouTube suddenly becomes a welcome source of procrastination.

This commercial makes me happy to be going back to the UK.

And, although the rest of this video is a bit of a let-down, but the theme song at the 20-second point is a clear and flagrant infringement of BJW's intellectual property rights.

...And Stephen Colbert Is A Giant NYERD!

goodladd — 2006-07-14T00:06:58-04:00

Sorry, Mariana. (Or maybe not.)

Breaking YouTube's Bandwidth, One Link At A Time...

goodladd — 2006-07-13T14:27:02-04:00

Fox News reporter gets shot at.

It's long, but I really like the banter when they cut back to the studio every now and then. If you don't want to watch through the whole eight minutes, I've transcribed the funny sections after the jump.

(Though it is worth watching at least until the guy gets shot at.)

Anchor 3: [haughtily] Shooting at the press, too. I mean, he's wearing a flak jacket that says 'PRESS' right on it.
Anchor 1: Yeah, but, uh.. if you're somebody who's a long way away, and you just see something, who you're not sure who it is, you just start shootin'.
Anchor 3: Really?

[later on]

Anchor 3: I still don't understand, they have-- it says 'PRESS', that's the colour, it's international...
Anchor 1: Sometimes bad guys shoot at ANYTHING.
Anchor 3: Right. But it's Israel.
[...]
Anchor 1: Completely shifting gears, are you a rotten speller?

No there can't be enough about you EDIT

Mariana — 2006-06-21T21:24:43-04:00

So, say �yes.� In fact, say �yes� as often as you can. When I was starting out in Chicago, doing improvisational theatre with Second City and other places, there was really only one rule I was taught about improv. That was, �yes-and.� In this case, �yes-and� is a verb. To �yes-and.� I yes-and, you yes-and, he, she or it yes-ands. And yes-anding means that when you go onstage to improvise a scene with no script, you have no idea what�s going to happen, maybe with someone you�ve never met before. To build a scene, you have to accept. To build anything onstage, you have to accept what the other improviser initiates on stage. They say you�re doctors�you�re doctors. And then, you add to that: We�re doctors and we�re trapped in an ice cave. That�s the �-and.� And then hopefully they �yes-and� you back. You have to keep your eyes open when you do this. You have to be aware of what the other performer is offering you, so that you can agree and add to it. And through these agreements, you can improvise a scene or a one-act play. And because, by following each other�s lead, neither of you are really in control. It�s more of a mutual discovery than a solo adventure. What happens in a scene is often as much a surprise to you as it is to the audience

--Stephen Colbert, from his Commencement Address to Knox College

It was bugging me that someone thought I was trying to pass this off as my words.~ Mariana

I Bet Lynne Truss Does!

goodladd — 2006-06-16T14:38:06-04:00

This book title could use some editing.

Do You Want Doubles?

vinny9 — 2006-06-14T23:44:41-04:00

World's largest camera

Shedding

goodladd — 2006-06-13T14:37:20-04:00

As I'll very shortly be moving, I'm attempting to get rid of the not inconsiderable heaps of junk I've accumulated over the years. Thus, there are a number of things up for grabs, FREE, to anyone who is interested:

�A sizeable pile of various clothes
�A smallish pile of CDs
�An old pair of Bauer ice skates, size 10
�Other household miscellany
�All these books

So make your way to my apartment sometime over the next few weeks and help yourself. Anything that's not gone by the middle of July is going to Goodwill. That includes Ken.

It Sounds Like Homework

vinny9 — 2006-06-11T23:52:58-04:00

List of cases remaining to be heard by the US Supreme Court this term

The Only Button Reads "Capituler"

vinny9 — 2006-06-08T17:01:50-04:00

The government of France has released a game where the goal is to balance the national budget.

http://www.cyber-budget.fr/

Batwings

dustin — 2006-06-08T01:01:57-04:00

I liked this picture so much I felt the need to blog it. Right now it's purely for military uses, but I'm sure in a decade or so the recreational skydiving places will be offering Batwing Descents or some such. At least I can dream...