Black Mage

ditto ditto

For me I think it was Donkey Kong Country. I remember going to Funky's Flights and just cranking up the TV volume and listening to it over and over.

I emailed one of my professors from my alma mater with the details, and she confirms that my pinhole was too big. So, time for version 2.0! Edit: Here are a couple of my better photographs from the new "lens"...

I have vague memories of playing some sort of Hot Wheels game on a Commodore 64.

I decided to do a fast mod for my Nikon FM10 to make it into a pin hole camera. I just bought a Nikon body cap ($3) and drilled a small hole into the centre. I then took a small square cut from the top of a can of beans (79¢)and carefully punched a tiny hole in it and used electrical tape (69¢) to tape it behind the hole. The whole thing cost less than $4.50, verses $35 from various photo sites. I went to shot a roll today, and will develop and scan it tomorrow at work. Edit: Hrm, I think I need to research my pin hole a bit. They all look blurry like this; and actually, this is probably the best example. I think my pinhole was too big.

Hm...yes, I do like this. Cash paid and album downloading.

This contract is sealed, friend; you have my vote. Now, let us discuss the fate of your first born...

Swa-weeet. Needs me some SMB3 DVDs!

1. Companion Cube 2. Conker 3. Dr. Light

Yes. YES. YYYEEEEAAAAAHHHH![/nerdgasm] Been too long since we had a remix of some classic Mario Bros.

I approve of this mix. It's kind of crunchy, and a different take of the Gerudo Valley theme than I've heard in a long time. Most stay close to the Spanish flamenco-ish(?) root of the song. This mix is a refreshing change; like a gin and tonic with a kumquat in place of the lime wedge.

I used to read 8BT religiously, but felt it stagnated some point around the first battle with the Litch King. Maybe it's time I went back and finished it up.

God damn you, JoeFu!

Ronn McFarlane - Thistleheart

I designed a new polyptych. The square ones would be 24x24 inches and the long panels would be 12X36 inches, so the whole piece will measure about 7.5 x 3.5 feet. I also added a very slight dry brush filter to hide the digital noise from being enlarged to much.

I finally have something approaching a portfolio and sales website for my photography. tomhamiltonphoto.com It's kind of cheating, hosting the domain at godaddy which immediately redirects to a site from a template and hosted at wix.com...but I have no web design skills to speak of, so it will have to do for now.

The SX20 is a good option, too. I shoot a lot with the SX10, so I'd certainly recommend it. The only reason I haven't mentioned Canon much is that we don't carry Canon at work, so I can't speak from my personal testing of their newest cameras. Edit: I also love that the SX10 and SX20 both have hot shoes. While I wouldn't recommend throwing a 430EXII speedlight on there (which I have done before, see also Nikon P6000 w/ SB900), but it works wonderfully with a Gary Fong Puffer diffuser (it's not just DSLRs).

As super-zooms go, the Sony DSC-HX1 might be an option. You get 20x optical zoom and Sony's Hand Held Twilight mode, in which the camera does six shot in one second, then blends them together to bring out the details and remove any camera shake. It's about $399, I think. An SLR would also work better in the low light of concerts, though a long zoom lens with a wide aperture and vibration reduction will cost you close to a grand, if not more (nearly $5,000 in the case of the AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED). If you're going to up on stage (or on the 50 yard line) taking the photos, then you can use something more like a 50mm f/1.8 ($139.99) or a 35mm f/2 ($380-ish). So really, if you were to go with a Nikon D3000 and a 35mm lens, you'd be at about $650-ish. A Sony equivalent setup would be an A330 with a 50mm f/1.8 for about $630-ish.

TWiT 248: Drowning in Connectivity

You looking for a small, easily carried point-and-shoot; a "medium" camera with more manual features and a lot of zoom; or an SLR? As brands go, stick with the reputable ones...Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Olympus are my top four. Fuji is okay, as is Pentax, but do yourself a huge favor and avoid all things Kodak, GM, HP, Sanyo, Samsung, etc. Kodak Easy Shares are especially crappy, though favored by the unknowing, and elderly. If you're looking at point-and-shoots, take a good look at what Sony has to offer. I have the WX1, and love the thing (auto bracketing, 10 shots per second at full res, and Sony's hand-held twilight mode). Sonys have great low-light performance and excellent color balance. The W330, W350, WX1, TX1, and HX5 are all great and go from $170 to $399-ish. Canon also has some good cameras, like the S90. Next up you have your super zoom cameras, which are essentially point-and-shoots but with a lot of zoom. Many also have SLR-like options, like shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual modes, which are very helpful. The Sony HX1, Nikon P100, and Canon SX20 are all ones to look at in this category. I have the Canon SX10, also, and think it's a great camera. I especially love the three-stop auto bracketing. Then there's your SLR cameras. These offer the best image quality (owed to their larger image sensors) and most control-ability. Prices range from $400 for the Nikon D3000 to $38,000 for the Hasselblad H4D-50 MS (drooling right now). The entry level cameras are pretty reasonably priced, but the extra lenses are what can drain your bank account...fast. A good lens can run you anywhere from $140 for a Nikon 50mm f/1.8, to $600-ish for an 80mm f/1.8, to $10,000 for a 600mm f/4 VR. The Nikon D90, Sony A500, and Canon T2i are some good options, here. Finally, there's the newest category, Micro Four Thirds cameras. These are like mini SLR cameras. They often have a nice old school vibe, aesthetically, and offer the flexibility of an SLR camera in something as easy to use as a pocket sized point-and-shoot, all in the size of a super-zoom camera. It's still an emerging class of camera, but I think it's going to grow a lot in the near future. The Olympus E-PL1 and a good example of this class of camera, and runs about $599. Also, more photos!

Has anyone heard of any interesting pre-order specials, be it from Amazon, GameStop, etc? I should have placed my pre-order with Amazon when they were offering it for $10 off the time-of-release price.

People give me grief for using Photobucket, but you know what, it's never not worked perfectly well for me. Plus you can easily resize images with it.