Blog Resurrection II

Posting has been sparse; putting it mildly.

I miss blogging. More specifically, i miss the writing. I miss the sharing of thoughts. A link here, a quote there, eh, just not enough. I also miss updating the family blog; pics of the kids, pets and the nutty stories that make life go 'round. I hope to tackle the latter by blogging directly from the iPhone. Yep, i finally entered the smart phone world last fall with the iPhone 4. I know, i know, just call me Buck Rogers.

I moved this blog to Posterous for a bit...but never posted anything from there. Posterous is now slow and Google finally gave blogger some lovin' so i'm back here.

I'm back because of 4 things. The first, mentioned above. The second and third are two friends who have been blogging of late: Josh Reighley and Carl Jones. And the last is a recent job change; i'm excited about work again.

North Carolina got a little bit of money from the President's Race to the Top Initiative and i'm delighted to be a part of the NC Education Cloud team. Our team has a short time frame to define, architect, procure and deploy services to assist the K-12 schools in NC. Here's to Gabe Kotter's SkyNet!

Adios Facebook

I spent a few minutes starting to write a "Why I Deleted My Facebook Account" essay, only to decide that this has been done many times in the last few weeks. Follow the link for a fairly complete rundown.

In a nutshell, in all my internet affairs over the last 20 years i have never been concerned about my personal information being shared in some way without my knowledge. Facebook changed that.

You can still find me on Twitter and elsewhere. My Google profile has other links.

My FB account will be gone by months end.

Update: Please use this tool to be sure your Facebook account privacy settings reflect your expectations of the service.

Book Review: Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions

Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World by James A. Beverley


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: i received a copy of this book for review from Thomas-Nelson Publishers.

This book is interesting in a couple of ways. First, it as more of a reference book than something you sit down to read. I was expecting a more conversational book about various religions and their differences; however, the book is neatly organized with each religion, or sect thereof, in its own section. That's not bad, just not what i was expecting. Secondly, with each religion having its own section, i would have assumed a basic alphabetical ordered format of the religions. They are not. It is organized like a hierarchy with similar religions grouped together. This, too, is not bad, just not what i was expecting after discovering that each religion had its own section. Want to find out about [insert religion here], you will need to refer to the index to find it.

Setting organization aside, Beverly has done a good job with the content. The information is clear and concise and seems accurate. But i kept asking myself, if i wanted to learn more about [insert unknown religion here], why would i go to a book? Honestly, the Wikipedia articles for the religions i reviewed are more thorough and are illustrated as well.

I gave the book a 4/5 because i think the book honors the title pretty well.

Light Box Photography for Fun and Profit

Just a few weeks ago at ACE/NETC 2009 in Des Moines, Iowa, i gave a short presentation on building and using a photography light box.



The short presentation is available on slideshare.

I also have a light box set on flickr.

Here is the blurb from the conference description:

In this brief session you will learn three things: (1) how to make your own light box for a few dollars; (2) how to use it to make professional looking images easily and without expensive equipment or software; and (3) how to sell the images for thousands of dollars. At the very least, we'll shoot for two out of three.

Sadly, my tongue-n-check description did draw one person hoping to learn about making money from their photos. I should really learn to be more careful with those descriptions as that has happened to me before.

Building

The inspiration for doing the presentation was finding a cheap light box how-to that shows how to build a complete light box for less than US$25. I had looked at light box/soft box kits for US$80 or more, but they always seemed over-priced for what you were getting.

A few notes about building the light box/tent from the site above:

• You don't need CPVC; use plain PVC, it is cheaper ...unless you plan to seal the light box frame and pressure test with 200 degree water to 300psi.


• You do not need to glue the frame together. The PVC pieces will stick well enough together to hold everything up. Additionally, it is quite hard to glue a rectangle and keep the corners square.


• The caps for the legs are a nice touch, but also not needed.


• The screws are also optional. I just use plain 'ol transparent tape to hold my backdrops to the pipe.


• All the PVC parts can be had for less than US$10.

Lighting

Keep it simple and cheap. I bought two 250 Watt halogen work lights (Workforce) from Home Depot. Cost US$4.95 each. If you have some lights around the house, give'em a shot.



Using the 250W lights had the added bonus of being able to take most shots without a tripod. You can certainly use lower wattage lights and set-up the tripod.

Color

Reading through the comments on the site above and other do it yourself light box pages, you will find a lot of folks struggling with color balance of the pictures. While you can certainly use most photo editing software to tweak the color by hand, there is a much simpler way that has been around a long time: the gray card.

Furthermore, check the photo software you use to see if it can use either white or black as a reference too, but all should understand a gray reference color.

The process is straight forward. Along with the item you place in the light box, place a gray/white/black card/paper/object such that you can include some area of it in your shot. When looking at the composition, just count on cropping that area out.

You can find gray cards for sale (also includes white and black reference cards too), or you can find a gray folder (i used a plastic one made by Mead US$2.49) at Walmart for a couple of bucks.

Time for Fun

Once you have the basic work flow going, have some fun! You can find lots of shots on the net (flickr, smugmug, to list a couple) and lots of inspirational ideas.



Ideas for experimenting:

1. light positioning - while a light box is great for getting rid of shadows, it is also great for creating the perfect shadows


2. backdrops - i bought a booklet full of colored construction paper at Walmart for dirt cheap; different types of cloth could also be used


3. placing items on mirrors, tiles, glass and the like


4. Anything you can fit in the light box is fair game!

Book Review: I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse

I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss by Michael Franzese

Disclaimer: i received a copy of this book for review from Thomas-Nelson Publishers.

I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss was an interesting book. A more descriptive (less sensational) title would have been Business Ethics: Machiavelli v/s Solomon. Who would have thought that mobsters were given homework when they went off to jail?

Michael Franzese tells us how the mob lived by the principals outlined by Niccolò Machiavelli in his book The Prince. And that a copy was given to incarcerated mobsters to read while they were doing their time.

Franzese explains how the mob is a great example of Machiavellian principals in practice and why an enterprising business-person would be wise to avoid them at all costs. For a contrast, he offers that Solomon has far more wisdom than Machiavelli; which, at the very least, should keep you out of jail.

I had low expectations for this book; perhaps because i didn't know what to expect. The book was a very quick read, but really needed another pass from a copy-editor. Overall, i found it interesting and educational.


James' Rating: 4/5 Stars

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Book Review: Kiss

Kiss by Ted Dekker

Disclaimer: i received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers for review.

I enjoyed this book, but it was not what i was expecting .. which was actually a good thing. At first i was feeling a little disappointed: Was this another story about someone in an accident that lost their memory? So it seemed...then it got interesting.

The book is well-written and a pretty fast read. It has suspense, mystery, love, murder, politics and a sci-fi/paranormal aspect to it. The latter threw me off a bit; that was the unexpected, but definitely made for a much better story.

Sound remotely interesting? Grab it. You'll enjoy it.

James' Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: Holding Fast

Holding Fast: The Untold Story of the Mount Hood Tragedy by Karen James

Disclaimer: i received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers for review.

This book was a surprise. When the preface tells you how the story ends (yes, i know the title has tragedy in it, but i had not actually heard of the story -- i generally don't watch the news), it leaves you wondering how the rest of the story could be engaging. Wow, was i wrong.

Karen James walks you thru the period before the tragedy and after in a manner that is interesting and even suspenseful. As the characters are introduced, you are given enough of a glimpse into the their character, personality and relationships that you can understand the bonds that tie them together.

As the clues are unraveled, you are drawn into emotional moments; however, unlike other books i have read of late, the text is clear, concise and to the point. This book could have easily been a 600 page bore-fest (i.e. wouldn't have been published).

This book was a fast and interesting read; your time will be rewarded.

James' Rating: 5/5

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