As a dyed-in-the-wool computer geek, I can definitely understand the desire to archive and restore old computers; especially since the computer world isn’t nearly as interesting these days as it used to be. I’ve even got a couple of ancient machines kicking around my place in various stages of disuse and disrepair (sadly enough). But I’m thinking maybe this guy has taken the whole thing a bit too far. Impressive, certainly, but a little unnerving. The all-white, all-Ikea “you just stepped onto a Kubrick movie set” aesthetic doesn’t really help things any…
Monthly Archives: November 2006
What’s that? A Picture?
I’ve been working on the site lately (behind-the-scenes-like) and noticed that it’s been far too long since I’ve posted any photos. Sorry about that. Here’s one from hiking down around Wilmore last weekend. It’s no great work of art, but I think it turned out better than I expected it to. Hope everybody’s having a happy Thanksgiving weekend.
Metal and Wood
Entry-Level
Looks like it’s for real. Nikon has introduced their D40 entry-level DSLR. I’ve got a couple of friends with D50s, and they’re very nice cameras but I’m not sure I could recommend this one. Most of the features cut from the D50 to make this one aren’t a big deal, but the inability to autofocus with non AF-S lenses is a problem. For me this would mean 3/5 of my lenses would only be operational in manual focus mode, which would be fine, but I doubt the viewfinder on this camera is really up to the task. What’s more problematic for most potential buyers of this camera is that Nikon doesn’t have any primes that are AF-S, except for their high-dollar super-telephoto lenses. So if you buy this body expect to upgrade fairly soon if you get serious about it and start buying more lenses.
On the other hand, it’s possible that this means that Nikon is planning on updating their entire lens lineup with AF-S motors. Which would be good news indeed; AF-S lenses are a lot quicker and quieter than the old screw-drive AF lenses, and it’s obvious from the D40 that taking the motor out of the camera allows them to make it quite a bit smaller…
D40
Looks like Nikon is pushing downmarket with their next (unannounced) DSLR, the D40. The rumoured specs and pictures of the camera are easy enough to find with Google, so I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader. Based on the rumours I’d be a bit reluctant to recommend this one to people; the inability to use autofocus with anything other than AF-S lenses seems pretty limiting. Still, I’m sure Nikon knows their target market better than I do. It does look interesting if for no other reason than that the pictures make it look absolutely tiny.
Long time no post
So I’ve been pretty much shirking my bloggerly duties for the past month or so, and I apologize to my regular readers (both of them). In an attempt to rectify this situation for the future, I’ve decided to open up the posting a bit and allow some others to post to the site. So please welcome my first guest poster, who also happens to be my brother…
Photos from the Broadmoor
Broadmoor
Rather than belaboring the details of how and why I ended up at the Broadmoor, suffice it to say that a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a weekend at one of the most beautiful/pretentious hotels in the world. The Broadmoor is in Colorado Springs, tucked right at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain, so while I spent the weekend worrying about not tipping the wrong person, I did not have to worry about finding a good place to hide in the event of nuclear war.
Lily Pads Blue
Of course there are photo opportunities all over in Colorado Springs, but some of my favorite pictures from the weekend were taken just outside the carport of the Broadmoor, where they have a very nice fountain filled with lily pads and fish. The red lily pads are admittedly a little garish, like the sort of flower that might spew something potent enough to make Spock climb a tree, but I think they make a nice contrast with the blue ones.
Lily Pads Red