eternally chaotic

Having been on the market for a digital camera the last few weeks I have seen that for the most part, and particularly to the non-photographer, is that the selections of models available differ minimally from one another. This got me thinking: what new features would I like to see incorporated into the next generation of mass market digital cameras.

Security

I envision a solution that adds an authentication challenge to perform destructive operations such as deleting a picture or video. This solution would require a tradeoff in that certain operations would be inaccessible unless the camera was docked at which point a challenge would be issued before the enablement of these operations. The solution would need to be built into the camera and not require software installation on a single computer. This technique would allow the typical mobility expected out of a digital camera and the flexibility for the user to use whatever computer or operating system they want to manage their camera.

WiFi

I would like my camera to have the ability to bond to a WiFi network. Perhaps extending the functionality described above around security the camera could be configured to connect to a particular wireless network with the typical connection options such as WEP or WPA2. Once connected a share extended from a home computer could be mapped to the camera and on a schedule, perhaps every night, or once a week, the camera would connect and download all content to the share. Even without the scheduling and automation the ability to point the camera at a network share and download content would be beneficial.

High Speed Internal Memory

I reuse many of my sdram cards and rarely purchase the hi-speed ones required for some advanced, hi-speed camera operations. I would like to see the camera include a small amount of internal hi-speed memory that was used as a write buffer during camera operations. Once the operation was complete or a particular amount of the buffer was filled the data would be transferred to the secondary storage.

I have been on a quest of sorts over the past year to explore deeper into various genres of music that I listen too. Having been in a rut of listening to the same bands over and over it has been fantastic to branch out and listen to the deeper tracks of the bands I love and sample music that my ears like to hear. I don’t foresee this quest ending any time soon but I am grateful for some of the tools people have shown me along the way.

Prior to using any tool to help me search intelligently for new bands, tracks or types of music, I merely categorized it myself and tried, sometimes in vain, to describe what I was looking for to others. My main love is that of Symphonic Metal, at least that is what I have learned it is called. To me this is fast, rhythmic, trance inducing, guitar laden, heavy metal overlayed with rich melodic vocals. The focus is on the rhythm, depth, and the power of the instruments highlighted by vocals that add richness and character to the music. This is music that you can feel as well as hear.

My exposure to Symphonic Metal was pretty limited even when I tried to look around. In the beginning of my search I really could not narrow down what it was I was looking for. I could not quantify what specific parts of the music I liked in a terms that made search engines happy enough to produce usable results. * Any search for a metal band would land thousands upon thousands of hits.* Frustration was setting in quickly.* Prior to heading back to the album collection came a gift from Olaf. Pandora! And I don’t mean that allusive box.

(more…)

It has been about a week and a half since Violet lost her plug.  I did manage to find it, literally in plain site, but she has not since seen it.  Just in case of some unforeseen emergency need, I put it in our junk drawer – and with exception to one fussy night at dinner – with Whitley and Riley nonetheless – have I even thought of using it.

Enough time has passed now that I doubt we will need it again.  She has taken to chewing on her fingers but she hasn’t learned enough times yet that it hurts to bite them.  In her own adorable way she will munch down oh-so-hard on one or more of those obviously tasty tiny fingers, gasp as she realizes that “something” caused them to hurt and run over to us all the time holding out her fingers asking for a kiss on them.

I am glad the plug is gone and moreso that it went without much notice or attention.  Good riddance!!!

Spring is still a little ways off but this weekend the girls got their first taste of it.  Not only was it unseasonably warm out but they played outside nearly every minute of it.  After being stuffed in the house with only a few trips out, and those not for extended periods, into the bitterness of a cold winter it was a relief to get some fresh air.

Piper especially got some time to play in the backyard.  Solo time at that.  She asked if she could go out to play with her princess castle and dump trucks.  The weather was nice, the gate was shut, I had no reason why she couldn’t.  I didn’t think she would stay out for long, particularly on her own, but she suprised me by playing for about an hour.  I peaked out several times and even ventured out onto the deck to listen to her tell various imaginary people to do various tasks – I think the princess thing might be getting to her head – pretty soon we are all just going to be servants with tasks to perform – as long as someone else gets laundry I will be happy.  She even had on her Snow White dress which remained remarkably clean – likely due to the fact that her servants were doing all the work.

Later on Saturday we met a bunch of friends at the park.  This was a first for us and a rare treat.  Typcially we get to see one friend or another but seldom so many at the same time.  We met up at Pinckneyville Park, in a particular corner that doesn’t get to busy.  The kids played hard on the fortress of a playground and in particular on a tall, long, enclosed circular yellow slide.  They would all get in at the top and go down as a large mass.  Only did it a few times but it certainly looked like fun.

After a couple of hours playing we headed home only to learn that another friend, Kristen and Angel, were down the hill at another playground at the same time.  Everyone had the same idea thanks to the great weather.

Michelle and Zana, both with cameras captured a good shot of all the kids just before everyone left.

From left to right, back to front we have:  Whitley, Conner, Eli, Piper, Patrick, Joshua, Riley, and Violet.  What a great weekend!!!

The Girls kept busy this weekend.  It started Friday night with a My Little Pony movie extravaganza.  Zana gave the girls a dvd of the MLPs and once Piper found out it existed there was not stopping it from finding its way into the player.  Missy had let her watch it earlier in the week as well but I think that was only a taste, or at least a wetting of the appetite.  Interestingly enough Piper has only been recently interested in the ponies.  We picked her up a few, along with a small barn and accessories, but until she watched the movies about each pony I don’t think there was any real understanding with what they were – Princesses – Pony Princesses!!!  Now, after making the connection, she is all about them.  All of the sudden toys long dead in the play room have a new purpose.

Saturday was an early start as we went over to the Thompson’s for another playdate.  This time though we got to see Ansley and her new sister Calli as well, a rare treat for the girls indeed.  I know Piper enjoyed the company because she talked about it for the remainder of the day once we left post lunch (thanks Zana!!!).  Her and Whitley get along great and have seen much of each other recently but playing with Ansley outside of school is rare and it was good to see the three of them hang out and have fun.  There was even a time when the three of them went up stairs and played in Whitley’s room – amazingly there seemed to be no conflict, no musical dress swapping and no real drama to speak of.  The other three, Riley, Violet, and Calli played downstairs with each other.  It is fun to watch as they are significantly different in age and the interaction varies from actual playing, to tug of war over something, to chasing, to wrestling, to trying to do what the older girls are doing, wash-rinse-repeat.

(more…)

Amazingly this week in artwork produced very little from either home or school.  We typically get a dozen pieces between the girls and many others they create or color at home throughout the week.  Violet ended up with nothing, well nothing that didn’t get reduced to scrap as a part of the process.  Piper has the following two.  The first if from school – she loves the Care Bears.  The second was done at Whitley’s house during a visit on Saturday morning with both Whitley and Ansley.