Hmm - an obsession about obsessions?
Maybe I need to find a formal way to categorize obsessions, so I can accurately refer to past ones and people will know what I am talking about - sort of like a library of Congress indexing system for obsessions.
Such a system would need to be able to group associated obsessions, sub-obsessions, and past revisions of current obsessions.
I'm sure such a thing would just be sooo helpful to people reading this blog - NOT!
Gee, I am a strange person, am I not?
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
One obsession closed, but new ones soon to be born...
OK, the "market research for digtal SLR" obsession is now over with. And the winner is: the Nikon D80, with the Nikon 18-200mm VR (vibration reduction) lens.
The first part (the body) arrived Friday, and I understand that the lens arrived today, and is waiting for me at home.
Now we can start a few new related obsessions! Here they are:
OK, the "market research for digtal SLR" obsession is now over with. And the winner is: the Nikon D80, with the Nikon 18-200mm VR (vibration reduction) lens.
The first part (the body) arrived Friday, and I understand that the lens arrived today, and is waiting for me at home.
Now we can start a few new related obsessions! Here they are:
- Obsession 1 - understanding the camera and playing with it. Soon to begin.
- Obsession 2 - hard case for the SLR project: I have a "semi-soft" case, but that doesn't really help me pack the camera in a backpack or suitcase. So I need something stiff. I am looking into either making some sort of clamshell case, or a wooden box that can hold the new baby.
- Obsession 3 - digital workflow. OK, I'm going to try to defer this one for a while. For most of my photography, I expect to continue to use .jpg mode in the sRBG color space. However, sometimes I will use raw mode for fancy stuff. This raises more questions than it solves, however. Here are a few: do you use the sRGB or Adobe RGB color space? Do you always keep both the raw and final file (and is that .jpg or photoshop, or .tiff, or what? And what color space should THAT file be in?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Brussels – impressions
Brussels calls itself the capital of Europe. Although I don’t know how accepted that claim is, it makes sense to me. I cannot separate out the residents from the visitors to the city (of which there are many), but there is a definite multi-national character about the place. While on the surface, it strongly resembles Paris in many ways (with everyone speaking French supporting this illusion), the sum total of the people make it different.
It is not pretentious; it is not a city with an attitude. Time seems to flow a bit faster than in Paris, with a less dreamy feeling to it. Things happen here. People come here for a reason, even it that reason is just to shop.
And shopping it has. Street after street of shopping, and food. Even in mid-winter the streets in the shopping district were swarming with people.
Ah yes, the people of the city. They are alive, they are enjoying themselves, and many times they seem to not worry about anything beyond the current moment. It felt, in the winter, like St. Petersburg felt in the summer – groups of teens and young women walking down the streets laughing, holding hands, giggling. Couples in love, both young and old, hanging onto each other, with timeless looks in their eyes. The future and the past.
The architecture in the city seems similar to Paris to my untrained eye, although the narrow, tall buildings with sharply peaked roofs seem more prevalent somehow. And there are the European parks that I have grown to love (they form the destinations of my walkabouts). There is a certain formality about the two I visited that I did not see in either Paris or St. Petersburg (although less formal than England). No, it is not that everything was geometrical. Indeed, I think they located their parks where there was interesting topology, favoring “bowls” that you could look down into. But even when looking wild, you get the impression the paths were crafted, designed and controlled. They seemed to be a bit more about design and luxury compared with utility, perhaps. Beautiful, however.
And then there was the food. We will start with the first food group, chocolate. Belgium is the capital of the chocolate world – I doubt many will dispute it. Never before have I seen more chocolate. Good stuff, and even affordable. And I should know – I researched the topic completely. Yumm.
Waffles. No crepes in this city, but waffles. I had one. Quite good, with chocolate and whipped cream. But I missed the romantic idea of crepes in Paris. And chocolate is tastier.
Beyond that, the stores and restaurants seemed to match those of Paris. You had your standard repeating sets of stores, and multi-ethnic restaurants – not only French, but Greek, Spanish, Indian, Italian, etc. The food I had was quite good, although I had a limited sample (save my one “big” dinner, which was great). The desserts were French standard – in other words, perfect.
Oh, and one final thing – something completely unanticipated by me. Effective in January, 2007, Belgium has banned indoor smoking in all public buildings (except bars, I think). And I understand that the rest of Europe is following. This is the beginning of a new age indeed.
I wonder what’s next?
Brussels calls itself the capital of Europe. Although I don’t know how accepted that claim is, it makes sense to me. I cannot separate out the residents from the visitors to the city (of which there are many), but there is a definite multi-national character about the place. While on the surface, it strongly resembles Paris in many ways (with everyone speaking French supporting this illusion), the sum total of the people make it different.
It is not pretentious; it is not a city with an attitude. Time seems to flow a bit faster than in Paris, with a less dreamy feeling to it. Things happen here. People come here for a reason, even it that reason is just to shop.
And shopping it has. Street after street of shopping, and food. Even in mid-winter the streets in the shopping district were swarming with people.
Ah yes, the people of the city. They are alive, they are enjoying themselves, and many times they seem to not worry about anything beyond the current moment. It felt, in the winter, like St. Petersburg felt in the summer – groups of teens and young women walking down the streets laughing, holding hands, giggling. Couples in love, both young and old, hanging onto each other, with timeless looks in their eyes. The future and the past.
The architecture in the city seems similar to Paris to my untrained eye, although the narrow, tall buildings with sharply peaked roofs seem more prevalent somehow. And there are the European parks that I have grown to love (they form the destinations of my walkabouts). There is a certain formality about the two I visited that I did not see in either Paris or St. Petersburg (although less formal than England). No, it is not that everything was geometrical. Indeed, I think they located their parks where there was interesting topology, favoring “bowls” that you could look down into. But even when looking wild, you get the impression the paths were crafted, designed and controlled. They seemed to be a bit more about design and luxury compared with utility, perhaps. Beautiful, however.
And then there was the food. We will start with the first food group, chocolate. Belgium is the capital of the chocolate world – I doubt many will dispute it. Never before have I seen more chocolate. Good stuff, and even affordable. And I should know – I researched the topic completely. Yumm.
Waffles. No crepes in this city, but waffles. I had one. Quite good, with chocolate and whipped cream. But I missed the romantic idea of crepes in Paris. And chocolate is tastier.
Beyond that, the stores and restaurants seemed to match those of Paris. You had your standard repeating sets of stores, and multi-ethnic restaurants – not only French, but Greek, Spanish, Indian, Italian, etc. The food I had was quite good, although I had a limited sample (save my one “big” dinner, which was great). The desserts were French standard – in other words, perfect.
Oh, and one final thing – something completely unanticipated by me. Effective in January, 2007, Belgium has banned indoor smoking in all public buildings (except bars, I think). And I understand that the rest of Europe is following. This is the beginning of a new age indeed.
I wonder what’s next?
Friday, February 09, 2007
Brussels, Thursday
Return day. Due to being unable to find an ATM which dispenses less than 60 Euros, I wake up with 6 Euros in my pocket. A bit less than the EU 60 taxi fare to the airport, but I have another plan – this morning, under pressure to get to the airport, I am going to take my “Public transport in French” exam.
The plan goes like this – get on the trolley just outside my hotel, then transfer to the Metro (same fare, or at least I think), then transfer to the train station and figure out how to get to the airport.
Things got off to a bad start, as I had planned to use my credit card to buy my trolley ticket, but this did not work. So I spent my 1.50 to get a ticket. 4.50 left.
The trolley (which in this case was indistinguishable from the Metro – you got on underground and exited underground) and the transfer to the Metro went fine. And I managed to figure out the underground connecting tunnels to the train station (Gare Centrale). I bought my ticket (EU 2.50) to the airport, was proud of myself for finding the correct track, and although the train to the airport was delayed a bit (they run about every 20 minutes), all went well. Total time from hotel to airport was just under an hour – only about 10 minutes slower than the cab ride.
Airport check-in was uneventful once I found the Delta counter – no real map, you just walk around a huge terminal until you find the familiar symbol. And security was essentially identical to the US, although they don’t make you take off your shoes. From entering the terminal to being at my gate took about 15 minutes – there was no line at all in security.
The flight back was boring – the plane delayed on the runway for 2 hours for de-icing, and frantic run through JFK airport to catch my connecting flight, but otherwise normal stuff.
Return day. Due to being unable to find an ATM which dispenses less than 60 Euros, I wake up with 6 Euros in my pocket. A bit less than the EU 60 taxi fare to the airport, but I have another plan – this morning, under pressure to get to the airport, I am going to take my “Public transport in French” exam.
The plan goes like this – get on the trolley just outside my hotel, then transfer to the Metro (same fare, or at least I think), then transfer to the train station and figure out how to get to the airport.
Things got off to a bad start, as I had planned to use my credit card to buy my trolley ticket, but this did not work. So I spent my 1.50 to get a ticket. 4.50 left.
The trolley (which in this case was indistinguishable from the Metro – you got on underground and exited underground) and the transfer to the Metro went fine. And I managed to figure out the underground connecting tunnels to the train station (Gare Centrale). I bought my ticket (EU 2.50) to the airport, was proud of myself for finding the correct track, and although the train to the airport was delayed a bit (they run about every 20 minutes), all went well. Total time from hotel to airport was just under an hour – only about 10 minutes slower than the cab ride.
Airport check-in was uneventful once I found the Delta counter – no real map, you just walk around a huge terminal until you find the familiar symbol. And security was essentially identical to the US, although they don’t make you take off your shoes. From entering the terminal to being at my gate took about 15 minutes – there was no line at all in security.
The flight back was boring – the plane delayed on the runway for 2 hours for de-icing, and frantic run through JFK airport to catch my connecting flight, but otherwise normal stuff.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Brussels, Wednesday
Nothing special for this day. We got out early at 1 pm (government only meeting in the afternoon), and I went on another 3 hours walkabout. This time I bought some things, and ate some tasty sorbet. I then did some work in my room, and ate Greek (or sort of Greek / French) – a steak like thing with a cream sauce and lots of mushrooms. Then I came back, packed, chatted with Nina, and did some more work.
The plan was to start to reset my body clock by not going to bed until 2:30 am. This didn’t work, as I was then unable to sleep much, until maybe 5:30 am. My alarm went off two hours later.
Nothing special for this day. We got out early at 1 pm (government only meeting in the afternoon), and I went on another 3 hours walkabout. This time I bought some things, and ate some tasty sorbet. I then did some work in my room, and ate Greek (or sort of Greek / French) – a steak like thing with a cream sauce and lots of mushrooms. Then I came back, packed, chatted with Nina, and did some more work.
The plan was to start to reset my body clock by not going to bed until 2:30 am. This didn’t work, as I was then unable to sleep much, until maybe 5:30 am. My alarm went off two hours later.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Brussels, Tuesday
Tuesday was entirely a work day, and I had no time for myself. We took a cab to the NATO headquarters, and wait in the cold for about 30 minutes waiting for an escort – somehow our security paperwork did not get processed, and we did not have a pass.
Once inside, the conference center (where all the working group work is held) was very new, very impressive and huge. Our room was moderately sized (probably 9 x 14 meters), with a large oval table in the middle, and chairs around the outside. The table had one seat per country (actually 2 for the US, for some reason) (with official looking tags in English and French), and a microphone and headset for every seat (complete with little red lights to indicate who is speaking). This is where the delegation’s primary representative sits and talks. The seats on the outside had headsets only. There was a large windowed area that would normally hold French and English translators (the windows were labeled), but none were present nor needed, as everyone spoke wonderful English with multicolored accents.
The meeting itself was uneventful and not particularly exciting, so I will skip the details.
I got back to my room at 5:45, slept for 30 minutes, chatted a bit with home, and then went to social event number one – beer (I drank wine…) at the Royal Lion. This went until 8 pm, and then was followed by a (god, I wish I knew), four course dinner at “The Belgium Mussel” – which ran until 11:30 pm. Tasty food – champagne, something rather like shrimp scampi for an appetizer, a “fish trio” for the main course, chocolate mousse for desert, and more red wine than I will own up to. I stumbled my way back to my hotel – a rather typical French experience, all told. For some reason when I remember Paris, I remember always feeling this way after meals.
Tuesday was entirely a work day, and I had no time for myself. We took a cab to the NATO headquarters, and wait in the cold for about 30 minutes waiting for an escort – somehow our security paperwork did not get processed, and we did not have a pass.
Once inside, the conference center (where all the working group work is held) was very new, very impressive and huge. Our room was moderately sized (probably 9 x 14 meters), with a large oval table in the middle, and chairs around the outside. The table had one seat per country (actually 2 for the US, for some reason) (with official looking tags in English and French), and a microphone and headset for every seat (complete with little red lights to indicate who is speaking). This is where the delegation’s primary representative sits and talks. The seats on the outside had headsets only. There was a large windowed area that would normally hold French and English translators (the windows were labeled), but none were present nor needed, as everyone spoke wonderful English with multicolored accents.
The meeting itself was uneventful and not particularly exciting, so I will skip the details.
I got back to my room at 5:45, slept for 30 minutes, chatted a bit with home, and then went to social event number one – beer (I drank wine…) at the Royal Lion. This went until 8 pm, and then was followed by a (god, I wish I knew), four course dinner at “The Belgium Mussel” – which ran until 11:30 pm. Tasty food – champagne, something rather like shrimp scampi for an appetizer, a “fish trio” for the main course, chocolate mousse for desert, and more red wine than I will own up to. I stumbled my way back to my hotel – a rather typical French experience, all told. For some reason when I remember Paris, I remember always feeling this way after meals.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Brussels, Monday
The flight over was uneventful, although I managed to get virtually no sleep on the plane – a bit unusual for me. When I got to the airport, I originally intended to take a cab (after all, I’m not paying), but the queue for the taxis was very long. So I decided to chance a train. I bought a ticket, and got on. I didn’t really have a plan, and didn’t know the stops. But I figured that once anywhere near Brussels, finding a cab would be easier, etc.
I had three choices – Gare Nord, Gare Centrale, or Gare something else. I chose Centrale, which proved to be the correct choice. Once there, I wandered around outside, looked at the maps, and tried to find my hotel. No luck (it didn’t help that I was looking for “A”, which proved to be the first initial of the real street name). So in the end I got in a cab, and for EU 8 he took me to my hotel.
Once settled (very nice room, no complaints at all), I went on a walkabout. These work the same in any city I am in. I find a map, take a camera and set off on foot. I don’t worry about where I am going, don’t even keep track. When I get tired, I find a metro or trolley stop and assume I can work it out.
Once I got oriented, this worked pretty well. Brussels is quite tourist friendly, with a big map on most major intersections. So I wander, occasionally look at a map for parks, then wander off that way. I stopped for “lunch”, otherwise known as a patisserie, and had a tasty piece of rather French looking cake. Four hours (and probably 15+ km on foot), I take the metro back. This got me much of the way, but I hadn’t figured out the trolley system yet, so I had a final 1.5 km walk to my hotel.
Here are some pictures, taken during Monday's walkabout:
First, this was very near my Hotel:
I liked the roofline in this picture. When I took it at first, I didn't notice the little white figure at the left - a clear talkoff on Mannekin Pis, a famous statue in Brussels (and several other places):
The following was a rather fancy indoor shopping mall. Reminds me of GUM in Moscow, and the Eaton center in Toronto:
I found a really bright shop window absolutely glowing in the late afternoon sun:
I took so many "typical street scenes", and won't bore you with them all. Here are a couple:
I like European city parks. Each city has its own character. Here is a wonderful, if not particularly wild park downtown:
Ending back new my hotel, at the main square again:
The flight over was uneventful, although I managed to get virtually no sleep on the plane – a bit unusual for me. When I got to the airport, I originally intended to take a cab (after all, I’m not paying), but the queue for the taxis was very long. So I decided to chance a train. I bought a ticket, and got on. I didn’t really have a plan, and didn’t know the stops. But I figured that once anywhere near Brussels, finding a cab would be easier, etc.
I had three choices – Gare Nord, Gare Centrale, or Gare something else. I chose Centrale, which proved to be the correct choice. Once there, I wandered around outside, looked at the maps, and tried to find my hotel. No luck (it didn’t help that I was looking for “A”, which proved to be the first initial of the real street name). So in the end I got in a cab, and for EU 8 he took me to my hotel.
Once settled (very nice room, no complaints at all), I went on a walkabout. These work the same in any city I am in. I find a map, take a camera and set off on foot. I don’t worry about where I am going, don’t even keep track. When I get tired, I find a metro or trolley stop and assume I can work it out.
Once I got oriented, this worked pretty well. Brussels is quite tourist friendly, with a big map on most major intersections. So I wander, occasionally look at a map for parks, then wander off that way. I stopped for “lunch”, otherwise known as a patisserie, and had a tasty piece of rather French looking cake. Four hours (and probably 15+ km on foot), I take the metro back. This got me much of the way, but I hadn’t figured out the trolley system yet, so I had a final 1.5 km walk to my hotel.
Here are some pictures, taken during Monday's walkabout:
First, this was very near my Hotel:
I liked the roofline in this picture. When I took it at first, I didn't notice the little white figure at the left - a clear talkoff on Mannekin Pis, a famous statue in Brussels (and several other places):
The following was a rather fancy indoor shopping mall. Reminds me of GUM in Moscow, and the Eaton center in Toronto:
I found a really bright shop window absolutely glowing in the late afternoon sun:
I took so many "typical street scenes", and won't bore you with them all. Here are a couple:
I like European city parks. Each city has its own character. Here is a wonderful, if not particularly wild park downtown:
Ending back new my hotel, at the main square again:
Monday, February 05, 2007
Traveling again, but this to Brussels
Well, I’m sitting on a plane and it’s freezing. I’m covered in as many blankets as I can find, and wondering why the plane doesn’t seem to have any temperature control. At least in the cabin I’m sitting in, there seem to be only two temperatures – darn cold (my guess is about 15 degrees, or beyond balmy (perhaps 30 degrees). One requires a jacket, and the other makes me regret wearing a long sleeve shirt. It stays one particular way, until someone complains, then it flips the other way. Strange.
I didn’t even know about this trip two weeks ago, but here I am, heading to Brussels, Belgium. A small adventure for Chuck. I am going to attend a NATO working group meeting on software-defined radios, which are a bit of a specialty of mine. Previously this was a government-only working group trying to determine what NATO should be doing in this area. They are now to the point or needing to involve industry, since we are the ones who actually not only make software-defined radios, but as a result also understand the technology the best. As a result, I am one of a group of four US delegates to this meeting.
I am comfortable in the overall subject area that I am going to cover, but far from comfortable with the political arena of the NATO working group. When I look at past attendance lists, I recognize very few people (OK, a couple from France). So this meeting I am going to lay low, listen, take notes, and try not to talk too much.
As I am writing this, I have awoken from my “nap” during the “night” on the plane. They fed me a bagel for breakfast (Delta airlines is NOT Air France, that is for sure!), and just turned off the cabin lights. We are flying into the sun, and I can see that we are over land – England, I would guess. The local Belgium time (according to my watch) is 7:49 am, but the sun is still far from rising. I can see an even glow on the horizon, and since we are flying more than one time zone per hour, I expect that I will be able to see a complete transition from darkness to sunrise in “faster than real time”. In fact, as I have written this paragraph, I can start to see what I think are clouds taking form, rather than just patchy lights from the land far below.
I don’t feel very tired at the moment, which is a bit strange, since it is just before 2 am local time – about the time I went to bed on Friday night two days ago. I will arrive in Brussels at 9 am Monday morning, and plan to take Monday to wander the streets with a camera and stop in all the pastry shops I can find J.
I now see a sea of clouds below. At 7:56, the world is. Grey blue clouds against a darker blue sky, with shades of orange and yellow on the horizon. I am on the “north” side of the airplane – when I look through the cabin out the windows on the other side, things look considerably brighter in the southeast.
Six hours, six time zones. I will now be offset 2 hours from St. Pete time, and 6 from home. It reminds me of traveling the other way, when a non-stop flight from Moscow to JFK can arrive before it departs.
Strange world, this.
February is going to be one busy month – crazier than any I can remember in the past with a combination of business travel and vacation. This week (we will call it week 1), I am in Europe. I get back near midnight on Thursday. The next week I spend at work. Then Nina’s winter break begins that Friday (end of “week two”). On week three, we plan to travel to San Diego for a week vacation. Week 3. We return the following Monday. Gwendolyn and Nina return home, and I remain in San Diego for several more days to attend a meeting there, returning on Thursday – week 4. When I get back it will be March. And sometime in early March I need to go visit my Mom Busy, busy.
The sea of clouds is a light lavender now. It is day, although the sun has yet to rise. We are now over the English Channel – a long way to swim indeed. Next we pass just north of Lille, France, and soon to our destination.
The last time I was in Europe it was to Russia – the time before, Paris. And Russia before that. And Russia this summer. Perhaps not as much variety as possible, but wonderful visits. Every trip is different. Our life is very rich indeed!
Well, I’m sitting on a plane and it’s freezing. I’m covered in as many blankets as I can find, and wondering why the plane doesn’t seem to have any temperature control. At least in the cabin I’m sitting in, there seem to be only two temperatures – darn cold (my guess is about 15 degrees, or beyond balmy (perhaps 30 degrees). One requires a jacket, and the other makes me regret wearing a long sleeve shirt. It stays one particular way, until someone complains, then it flips the other way. Strange.
I didn’t even know about this trip two weeks ago, but here I am, heading to Brussels, Belgium. A small adventure for Chuck. I am going to attend a NATO working group meeting on software-defined radios, which are a bit of a specialty of mine. Previously this was a government-only working group trying to determine what NATO should be doing in this area. They are now to the point or needing to involve industry, since we are the ones who actually not only make software-defined radios, but as a result also understand the technology the best. As a result, I am one of a group of four US delegates to this meeting.
I am comfortable in the overall subject area that I am going to cover, but far from comfortable with the political arena of the NATO working group. When I look at past attendance lists, I recognize very few people (OK, a couple from France). So this meeting I am going to lay low, listen, take notes, and try not to talk too much.
As I am writing this, I have awoken from my “nap” during the “night” on the plane. They fed me a bagel for breakfast (Delta airlines is NOT Air France, that is for sure!), and just turned off the cabin lights. We are flying into the sun, and I can see that we are over land – England, I would guess. The local Belgium time (according to my watch) is 7:49 am, but the sun is still far from rising. I can see an even glow on the horizon, and since we are flying more than one time zone per hour, I expect that I will be able to see a complete transition from darkness to sunrise in “faster than real time”. In fact, as I have written this paragraph, I can start to see what I think are clouds taking form, rather than just patchy lights from the land far below.
I don’t feel very tired at the moment, which is a bit strange, since it is just before 2 am local time – about the time I went to bed on Friday night two days ago. I will arrive in Brussels at 9 am Monday morning, and plan to take Monday to wander the streets with a camera and stop in all the pastry shops I can find J.
I now see a sea of clouds below. At 7:56, the world is. Grey blue clouds against a darker blue sky, with shades of orange and yellow on the horizon. I am on the “north” side of the airplane – when I look through the cabin out the windows on the other side, things look considerably brighter in the southeast.
Six hours, six time zones. I will now be offset 2 hours from St. Pete time, and 6 from home. It reminds me of traveling the other way, when a non-stop flight from Moscow to JFK can arrive before it departs.
Strange world, this.
February is going to be one busy month – crazier than any I can remember in the past with a combination of business travel and vacation. This week (we will call it week 1), I am in Europe. I get back near midnight on Thursday. The next week I spend at work. Then Nina’s winter break begins that Friday (end of “week two”). On week three, we plan to travel to San Diego for a week vacation. Week 3. We return the following Monday. Gwendolyn and Nina return home, and I remain in San Diego for several more days to attend a meeting there, returning on Thursday – week 4. When I get back it will be March. And sometime in early March I need to go visit my Mom Busy, busy.
The sea of clouds is a light lavender now. It is day, although the sun has yet to rise. We are now over the English Channel – a long way to swim indeed. Next we pass just north of Lille, France, and soon to our destination.
The last time I was in Europe it was to Russia – the time before, Paris. And Russia before that. And Russia this summer. Perhaps not as much variety as possible, but wonderful visits. Every trip is different. Our life is very rich indeed!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Obsession #1 continued: Digital SLR evaluation, continued
OK, this tiresome post will continue - skip it if you are not really into these things.
To reiterate, four cameras very worth considering. All have received very good reviews.
The first step, to contain the obsession, is to drop the field to two contenders. To do this, I used two techniques.
The first was to compare the camera features and performance against my requirements. The dropped only one camera - the Sony DSLR-A100. Although I would love to think of myself as some great, famous photographer climbing mountains in the west taking pictures, the truth is, that I end up taking as many pictures indoors and at parties than anything else. Compared with the other three cameras, the Sony, while perhaps giving the "best value for the dollar", fell short in ISO 800 and 1600 performance. The lens relief with me wearing glasses also cut off the edges of the viewfinder.
This got me down to three cameras. Time to apply another technique:
How? Well, I applied one of my lessons learned over the years - "if you are going to use and keep something for a number of years, don't sweat minor or even moderate differences in initial cost. When amortized over the useful life of the product, even hundreds of dollars (over 10 years +) make very little difference in the end. Buy what meets your real and psychological needs".
I really feel this is good advice, at least if you are not really short of money (in which case you immediately buy the Canon or Sony - you win either way).
It was hard to let go (because initially this had been my #1 choice, and, as it often happens, the camera that got me into this market, along with my price expectations) - but this dropped out the Canon XTi.
The Canon is a great camera, and a fantastic value. It's image quality is essentially tied for first place. However, it has several small drawbacks that I think would have bugged me at some low level once I had seen the Nikon (and the Pentax, which I have not yet touched). First is the viewfinder. The Canon viewfinder image, which uses a pentamirror instead of a pentaprism, is visibly smaller and a tad darker than the Nikon and (I am told) Pentax. The camera is also a bit on the small side for my hands, compared with the Nikon. These are still fairly minor nits, however - but there nevertheless.
Finally, lens choices for the Canon vs. the Nikon lean a bit away from the Canon. Both manufacturers have image stabilized lenses (see future post on this) that cover wide angle to telephoto. And both have ultrasonic focusing inside the lens. However, with comparable image quality, the Canon requires two lenses for this, while Nikon makes a single lens (if one can get a hold of one) that covers the full range, with similar max aperture and quality. In the portability realm, this could actually make a significant difference.
This puts Canon in the #3 position.
Then there is the Pentax. I have not yet got to touch this camera. The reviews, though not perfect, have many positive things to say about it. It has built-in image stabilization, which is a plus, even if it may under perform the Canon and Nikon in-lens stabilization by a bit. At the moment, it really is not a contender, although this could change in the future.
Why? Lenses. Once again, I return to a SLR principal - "Make sure you consider the lenses at least as much as the camera. The camera just records the image. The lens makes the image."
As I write this, Pentax does not have any lenses with the quiet, fast internal focusing based on ultrasonic motors. Instead, a motor inside of the camera body turns the focusing mechanism. This is a bit slower and noisier. In addition, the newer Pentax lenses tend more toward the professional market, with none being particularly "wide range" lenses. At best, the zoom range of these lenses is a bit less than Canon's, and no where near the Nikon 18-200 mm "miracle lens". Pentax will introduce several in 2007, but they are also going to be full weatherproof, and I expect not very cheap. Especially since I will eventually need 2.
This leaves the Nikon D80. This will get its own post, but for now the biggest problem is availability of the lens, and cost of the overall system. If we can overcome these, I think we have the right long-term solution for me.
OK, this tiresome post will continue - skip it if you are not really into these things.
To reiterate, four cameras very worth considering. All have received very good reviews.
The first step, to contain the obsession, is to drop the field to two contenders. To do this, I used two techniques.
The first was to compare the camera features and performance against my requirements. The dropped only one camera - the Sony DSLR-A100. Although I would love to think of myself as some great, famous photographer climbing mountains in the west taking pictures, the truth is, that I end up taking as many pictures indoors and at parties than anything else. Compared with the other three cameras, the Sony, while perhaps giving the "best value for the dollar", fell short in ISO 800 and 1600 performance. The lens relief with me wearing glasses also cut off the edges of the viewfinder.
This got me down to three cameras. Time to apply another technique:
How? Well, I applied one of my lessons learned over the years - "if you are going to use and keep something for a number of years, don't sweat minor or even moderate differences in initial cost. When amortized over the useful life of the product, even hundreds of dollars (over 10 years +) make very little difference in the end. Buy what meets your real and psychological needs".
I really feel this is good advice, at least if you are not really short of money (in which case you immediately buy the Canon or Sony - you win either way).
It was hard to let go (because initially this had been my #1 choice, and, as it often happens, the camera that got me into this market, along with my price expectations) - but this dropped out the Canon XTi.
The Canon is a great camera, and a fantastic value. It's image quality is essentially tied for first place. However, it has several small drawbacks that I think would have bugged me at some low level once I had seen the Nikon (and the Pentax, which I have not yet touched). First is the viewfinder. The Canon viewfinder image, which uses a pentamirror instead of a pentaprism, is visibly smaller and a tad darker than the Nikon and (I am told) Pentax. The camera is also a bit on the small side for my hands, compared with the Nikon. These are still fairly minor nits, however - but there nevertheless.
Finally, lens choices for the Canon vs. the Nikon lean a bit away from the Canon. Both manufacturers have image stabilized lenses (see future post on this) that cover wide angle to telephoto. And both have ultrasonic focusing inside the lens. However, with comparable image quality, the Canon requires two lenses for this, while Nikon makes a single lens (if one can get a hold of one) that covers the full range, with similar max aperture and quality. In the portability realm, this could actually make a significant difference.
This puts Canon in the #3 position.
Then there is the Pentax. I have not yet got to touch this camera. The reviews, though not perfect, have many positive things to say about it. It has built-in image stabilization, which is a plus, even if it may under perform the Canon and Nikon in-lens stabilization by a bit. At the moment, it really is not a contender, although this could change in the future.
Why? Lenses. Once again, I return to a SLR principal - "Make sure you consider the lenses at least as much as the camera. The camera just records the image. The lens makes the image."
As I write this, Pentax does not have any lenses with the quiet, fast internal focusing based on ultrasonic motors. Instead, a motor inside of the camera body turns the focusing mechanism. This is a bit slower and noisier. In addition, the newer Pentax lenses tend more toward the professional market, with none being particularly "wide range" lenses. At best, the zoom range of these lenses is a bit less than Canon's, and no where near the Nikon 18-200 mm "miracle lens". Pentax will introduce several in 2007, but they are also going to be full weatherproof, and I expect not very cheap. Especially since I will eventually need 2.
This leaves the Nikon D80. This will get its own post, but for now the biggest problem is availability of the lens, and cost of the overall system. If we can overcome these, I think we have the right long-term solution for me.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Obsession #1 - Digital SLR selection
Well, I think others would judge this to be my #1 obsession, so I will start here.
It is a particularly good candidate in the obsession category, because I seem to be stuck in an endless loop - market research SLRs, visit the same web pages over an over again, check prices, do nothing, repeat the entire cycle.
Part of it is that there is no good solution with works for me right now, and I am not in a real hurry, and part of it is that now that I am used to checking these things out, I don't know how to stop.
Here is how it started. In the beginning, many, many years ago, digital photography started to be used by real people. But film was still better. Then, around 2002, after watching patiently for years, I finally determined that the high-end point and shoot market was mature enough - that in this area it did everything better than film point and shoots. So I finally bought a Canon G3.
This turned out to be a great decision. Almost 5 years later (they are now on the Canon G8!) my G3 still does a great job, and it has literally revived photography for me - changed it completely. So, even if my camera which cost $850 5 years ago is now about $200+ on the used market, it still solves most of my day-to-day photography needs.
During this period, digital SLRs were just a niche market at the low end, or WAY too expensive at the high end. Simply put, the SLR market was not ready yet for me - anything I bought I figured I would need to replace in several years because something better would come out. So I waited.
Meanwhile I continued to use the point and shoot (a rather nice one at that). I am amazed at how much of the normal SLR things I could do with it (and some things I could not do with an SLR). But, I still longed for my SLR, which I have not used since getting the G3. With time, I knew that I would end up with another camera.
About 3 years ago, a friend of ours (Yana) bought a Canon Rebel. This was the first viable "consumer SLR" camera. I was impressed by the pictures it took, and it effectively started the clock ticking on the selection of a camera.
The whole SLR scene has almost come together in late 2006, with four dominant SLR models, from four different manufacturers each offering a fantastic feature set - and one with which one could live for many years without buying a new camera. These are:
Well, I think others would judge this to be my #1 obsession, so I will start here.
It is a particularly good candidate in the obsession category, because I seem to be stuck in an endless loop - market research SLRs, visit the same web pages over an over again, check prices, do nothing, repeat the entire cycle.
Part of it is that there is no good solution with works for me right now, and I am not in a real hurry, and part of it is that now that I am used to checking these things out, I don't know how to stop.
Here is how it started. In the beginning, many, many years ago, digital photography started to be used by real people. But film was still better. Then, around 2002, after watching patiently for years, I finally determined that the high-end point and shoot market was mature enough - that in this area it did everything better than film point and shoots. So I finally bought a Canon G3.
This turned out to be a great decision. Almost 5 years later (they are now on the Canon G8!) my G3 still does a great job, and it has literally revived photography for me - changed it completely. So, even if my camera which cost $850 5 years ago is now about $200+ on the used market, it still solves most of my day-to-day photography needs.
During this period, digital SLRs were just a niche market at the low end, or WAY too expensive at the high end. Simply put, the SLR market was not ready yet for me - anything I bought I figured I would need to replace in several years because something better would come out. So I waited.
Meanwhile I continued to use the point and shoot (a rather nice one at that). I am amazed at how much of the normal SLR things I could do with it (and some things I could not do with an SLR). But, I still longed for my SLR, which I have not used since getting the G3. With time, I knew that I would end up with another camera.
About 3 years ago, a friend of ours (Yana) bought a Canon Rebel. This was the first viable "consumer SLR" camera. I was impressed by the pictures it took, and it effectively started the clock ticking on the selection of a camera.
The whole SLR scene has almost come together in late 2006, with four dominant SLR models, from four different manufacturers each offering a fantastic feature set - and one with which one could live for many years without buying a new camera. These are:
- Canon XTi - http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/ - this is a 10 MP successor to the Canon Rebel line. Great price, possibly the best image quality sensor wise, and a good feature set. Not perfect in several areas, but very good indeed.
- Nikon G80 - http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/ - to me this very closely approaches a perfect SLR, with great ergonomics. It is my front-runner at the time. Nikon also has one of the most desired lenses on the market - a 18 to 200 mm zoom (!!!) that is actually very good. There are some issues (see a later post), but none are with the camera itself. Frankly, if I could get the len I wanted now for the list price, I may have already bought it. But everyone wants this lens, and it is either back ordered for 4 months (at the list price), or sold in-stock at $300+ above list. So the package at this time is out of my price range or not available. Hence temporary paralysis.
- Sony DLSR-A100 - http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra100/ - very interesting camera indeed, and probably by many standards the deal of the year. Image stabilization built in, good lenses, and a very low price for what you get. For the market they are reaching for, a best buy, it seems. I think they are a little off my market, however, because first of all, I don't yet trust their ability to make an SLR, and some of the features are a bit, well, Sony-like. And I have not forgiven them for using a proprietary SONY flash hot-shoe. Very Sony. But for many, take a serious look at this late-comer to the party.
- Pentax K10D - http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk10d/- this WAS my leading contender a bit back, and is now in second place. It got dinged in its review on JPEG image quality, but this can be fixed in a future software upgrade, which they will probably do some day. It also has in-camera image stabilization, and very good Pentax lenses. But lenses when you look at the details are the problem here. To make a long story short, they don't have (yet) any wide-range lenses that are also ultrasonic motor focusing yet. Pentax will introduce them in "2007 and beyond", but I am worried about the price.
Well, that's enough for starters - I will continue this in a future entry.
Winter, finally
Well, the last 3 days have proven that winter is not going to pass us by entirely. It is now the end of January, and sure enough, it even feels like it. High temperatures around -8, and lows around -16 (Celsius). And about 15 cm of fluffy snow. Maybe this weekend skiing will be possible!
Nina is going through mid-term exam week, and still seems to be alive, although at times we may have to change that to be "barely alive". Gwendolyn is keeping herself quite busy even without classes at the moment. I am I pursuing my various obsessions. I think rather than corrupt this post with them, I will write separate entries for them.
Well, the last 3 days have proven that winter is not going to pass us by entirely. It is now the end of January, and sure enough, it even feels like it. High temperatures around -8, and lows around -16 (Celsius). And about 15 cm of fluffy snow. Maybe this weekend skiing will be possible!
Nina is going through mid-term exam week, and still seems to be alive, although at times we may have to change that to be "barely alive". Gwendolyn is keeping herself quite busy even without classes at the moment. I am I pursuing my various obsessions. I think rather than corrupt this post with them, I will write separate entries for them.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Evil things to do to your roommate!
I was talking with a female co-worker of mine, and somehow the discussion of evil things to do to people came up. Much to my surprise, said person (whose name is being withheld to protect the guilty) did indeed have an evil past! Here are two of her dirty deeds (as opposed to "the" dirty deed - an entirely different thing....):
I was talking with a female co-worker of mine, and somehow the discussion of evil things to do to people came up. Much to my surprise, said person (whose name is being withheld to protect the guilty) did indeed have an evil past! Here are two of her dirty deeds (as opposed to "the" dirty deed - an entirely different thing....):
Story 1:
She and her roommate had bunk beds, one on top of another. Her roomie's is on top. One night she made sure she was not seen arriving home when her roommate got ready for bed. But she watched from afar. Knowing her roommates routine, she waited until said roomie crossed the hall to the bathroom for that final bathroom stop. After the door closed, she quickly went into the room, crawled into the top bunk, and buried herself completely in the covers. And waited. And waited... Finally, roomie comes in, sleepily climbs the ladder, and starts to climb into bed..... and .... suddently out pops my coworker, arms agape, yelling "Ahhhhh!!!!". As it happens these arms than had to GRAB the roomie, who was starting to fall down the ladder. (Apparently they are still good friends)
Story 2:
This is a real treat! Different victim (not her roomie but rather a suitemate). This joke turned out a bit better than planned, as it happens. Here is the setup - in the suite bathroom. Victim showering in the next stall. She had been in there a while. My brave co-worker takes a packet of cherry crystal light powder (a diet drink mix - essentially powdered red dye), and throws a handful over the top of the curtain. And runs.
Well, here is what she did NOT know when she did this. Her suitemate was apparently shaving at the time, with shaving cream here and there, sharp blade in hand, against skin.
Heard while running out of the door: Oh my god - I'm bleeding!!!!
Evil, very evil!
Monday, January 08, 2007
Three cool web sites to spend your money on....
http://www.sciplus.com/ - just cool science things. Very amusing text
http://www.widgetsupply.com/ - best gadgets and hobby tool site around!
http://www.firefox-fx.com/ - firework and rocketry site. One of the few sites still selling chemicals, so probably an FBI front :-) Buy your oxidizing agents while they are still legal! :-)
http://www.sciplus.com/ - just cool science things. Very amusing text
http://www.widgetsupply.com/ - best gadgets and hobby tool site around!
http://www.firefox-fx.com/ - firework and rocketry site. One of the few sites still selling chemicals, so probably an FBI front :-) Buy your oxidizing agents while they are still legal! :-)
Thursday, January 04, 2007
I doubt I can exactly blame president Bush, but...
It is really warm today. All week it has been at least 8 degrees, and now it is a balmy 13 degrees (56 degrees F)!!! And what am I doing? Sitting in the basement of my building and working!
Oh well, no complaints, at least when its this warm. I think the immediate blame is now formally attributed to El Nino. But for that I will try blaming Bush!
It is amazing on how busy things are. A full week of Christmas vacation has gone by, and I did not even find time to write in this blog. Wow! In the meanwhile, check out our photo site. At least there are some pictures of what we did. If I get a chance (no promised today) I will try to "bloggify" it here.
Finally, my toilet entry for the month (some readers have been telling me I am obsessed by toilets, based on several previous posts). The only thing we have are clogged and overflowing toilets here at home now and then. And that is not that funny...
It is really warm today. All week it has been at least 8 degrees, and now it is a balmy 13 degrees (56 degrees F)!!! And what am I doing? Sitting in the basement of my building and working!
Oh well, no complaints, at least when its this warm. I think the immediate blame is now formally attributed to El Nino. But for that I will try blaming Bush!
It is amazing on how busy things are. A full week of Christmas vacation has gone by, and I did not even find time to write in this blog. Wow! In the meanwhile, check out our photo site. At least there are some pictures of what we did. If I get a chance (no promised today) I will try to "bloggify" it here.
Finally, my toilet entry for the month (some readers have been telling me I am obsessed by toilets, based on several previous posts). The only thing we have are clogged and overflowing toilets here at home now and then. And that is not that funny...
Monday, December 18, 2006
Atlanta airport
On way to San Diego (OK, Carlsbad, for those who care) California, I flew via Atlanta, GA airport. This is not normally an airport I fly though except when going to Florida, and it has been a while. This is a fairly new airport (maybe they built it for the Olympics 8 years ago, I don't know), and it has several peculiarities.
After eating lunch, I was walking to my gate I needed to attend to my biology, so to speak. No problem, just follow the signs. Well, I walk, and walk and walk down the terminal corridor, and the helpful signs gave up directing me. No bathroom! I turn around, and walk the 100 m back to where I had started. I go the other direction, and finally have to walk another 150m before a find a place. Do they really space their bathrooms 250 m apart?
Inside it was very clean, very modern, very new. And of course had a fancy sink with a "touchless" design. Two faucets, identical - one to the left, one to the right. Well, I want HOT water, so I select that one.
Green soap gets deposited onto my (dry) hands. Not what I wanted, and not my style. So, without thinking I go to the right. Yup, a gushing stream of cold water is deposited on my hands, what takes the dose of soap and splashes it onto my shirt. Really, I am not lying!
GRRR. I look at the taps - surely these should be labeled! Well, they were - when you hold your head just right with the light you can tell that "soap" and "water" (they didn't say cold) are etched into the shiny metal. A bit too subtle for me, I guess.
The rest of my bathroom experience went normally, I am happy to say.
Now back to the airport corridor. I bought a strawberry smoothie (only on business trips, I am always too cheap to pay for them myself). After drinking it, I throw it in one of the many shiny trash containers every 10 meters down the hall it seems (guess they figure more people throw out trash then go to the bathroom). No problem. I then stand nearby waiting in line to board my flight. Several minutes later, the garbage can I tossed my drink into starts making noise. They are electric trash cans! A light goes on, there is a whirring and crunching noise, the can burps (just kidding), and it becomes quiet and smiling again.
Next time I come back to this airport I think I'll bring a really heavy weight plastic bag, and fill it with some air!! Or bubble wrap. Or an aerosol can of, say shaving cream. THAT ought to be fun!
Speaking of such things, while I was standing in the luggage screening area in Rochester, I overheard a snippet of conversation - don't know how it turned out--
Screener person, sitting at the X-ray machine to traveler: "Hey, is that a football you have in your bag here?"
Passenger - "yup, you got it - bringing with with me to Florida to play on the beach!"
Screener - "Yeah, only one problem - we're going to have to cut it open, you know to see if anythings inside".
Passenger - "You gotta be kidding!"
Screener - chuckles..
On way to San Diego (OK, Carlsbad, for those who care) California, I flew via Atlanta, GA airport. This is not normally an airport I fly though except when going to Florida, and it has been a while. This is a fairly new airport (maybe they built it for the Olympics 8 years ago, I don't know), and it has several peculiarities.
After eating lunch, I was walking to my gate I needed to attend to my biology, so to speak. No problem, just follow the signs. Well, I walk, and walk and walk down the terminal corridor, and the helpful signs gave up directing me. No bathroom! I turn around, and walk the 100 m back to where I had started. I go the other direction, and finally have to walk another 150m before a find a place. Do they really space their bathrooms 250 m apart?
Inside it was very clean, very modern, very new. And of course had a fancy sink with a "touchless" design. Two faucets, identical - one to the left, one to the right. Well, I want HOT water, so I select that one.
Green soap gets deposited onto my (dry) hands. Not what I wanted, and not my style. So, without thinking I go to the right. Yup, a gushing stream of cold water is deposited on my hands, what takes the dose of soap and splashes it onto my shirt. Really, I am not lying!
GRRR. I look at the taps - surely these should be labeled! Well, they were - when you hold your head just right with the light you can tell that "soap" and "water" (they didn't say cold) are etched into the shiny metal. A bit too subtle for me, I guess.
The rest of my bathroom experience went normally, I am happy to say.
Now back to the airport corridor. I bought a strawberry smoothie (only on business trips, I am always too cheap to pay for them myself). After drinking it, I throw it in one of the many shiny trash containers every 10 meters down the hall it seems (guess they figure more people throw out trash then go to the bathroom). No problem. I then stand nearby waiting in line to board my flight. Several minutes later, the garbage can I tossed my drink into starts making noise. They are electric trash cans! A light goes on, there is a whirring and crunching noise, the can burps (just kidding), and it becomes quiet and smiling again.
Next time I come back to this airport I think I'll bring a really heavy weight plastic bag, and fill it with some air!! Or bubble wrap. Or an aerosol can of, say shaving cream. THAT ought to be fun!
Speaking of such things, while I was standing in the luggage screening area in Rochester, I overheard a snippet of conversation - don't know how it turned out--
Screener person, sitting at the X-ray machine to traveler: "Hey, is that a football you have in your bag here?"
Passenger - "yup, you got it - bringing with with me to Florida to play on the beach!"
Screener - "Yeah, only one problem - we're going to have to cut it open, you know to see if anythings inside".
Passenger - "You gotta be kidding!"
Screener - chuckles..
Friday, December 15, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Aurora watch...
Today has been really warm - it got up to about 12 degrees today. Now, just around midnight, it is still a bit over 10. I walk outside - there is a warm wind and it is very quiet. I hear the dry oak leaves left on the tree cracking in the wind. A coyote is heard in the distance. Wth some imagination I could easily believe that it late September instead of mid-December.
There is an aurora watch tonight! Here we are, in the minimum period of the solar sunspot cycle, and there was a big solar flare yesterday. Well, I was looking during my walk, and unfortunately there are some low scattered clouds filling in. Did I see some light green flickering in the northern sky? Well, maybe. It would be good to believe. But I expect it was my imagination.
Today has been really warm - it got up to about 12 degrees today. Now, just around midnight, it is still a bit over 10. I walk outside - there is a warm wind and it is very quiet. I hear the dry oak leaves left on the tree cracking in the wind. A coyote is heard in the distance. Wth some imagination I could easily believe that it late September instead of mid-December.
There is an aurora watch tonight! Here we are, in the minimum period of the solar sunspot cycle, and there was a big solar flare yesterday. Well, I was looking during my walk, and unfortunately there are some low scattered clouds filling in. Did I see some light green flickering in the northern sky? Well, maybe. It would be good to believe. But I expect it was my imagination.
Today's highlights
Christmas is coming! 11 days until Christmas! I have actually started my shopping, if you count mail order as shopping. Next week is going to be pretty busy because I am in California!
I am surrounded by students. Two in my own household. I came home from volleyball at 10:30 pm, and both Gwendolyn and Nina were working on papers, each due Friday. For Gwendolyn, this is the end of a semester. For Nina -- well, just the end of a week.
Now 11:15 - G is going upstairs to "rest" - I'm supposed to come get her at midnight so she can start on her next paper. Nina also is getting done with her first paper, and has not started her second one yet. Me? Typing a blog - a waste of time by comparison.
Speaking of volleyball, Thursday night pickup was very good tonight - everyone was good, and I was one of the weaker players on my team, which is how I like it. Everything went well, and I didn't kill myself (always an option).
Christmas is coming! 11 days until Christmas! I have actually started my shopping, if you count mail order as shopping. Next week is going to be pretty busy because I am in California!
I am surrounded by students. Two in my own household. I came home from volleyball at 10:30 pm, and both Gwendolyn and Nina were working on papers, each due Friday. For Gwendolyn, this is the end of a semester. For Nina -- well, just the end of a week.
Now 11:15 - G is going upstairs to "rest" - I'm supposed to come get her at midnight so she can start on her next paper. Nina also is getting done with her first paper, and has not started her second one yet. Me? Typing a blog - a waste of time by comparison.
Speaking of volleyball, Thursday night pickup was very good tonight - everyone was good, and I was one of the weaker players on my team, which is how I like it. Everything went well, and I didn't kill myself (always an option).
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
A new solution to an old problem...
Here is the problem - you have a canal, and it either needs to change height (think long "sloping" canal), or intersect another canal system or river at another height (this would correspond to the "waterfall running into another river".
Well, there is a classic solution to this problem, one that has developed over the years into a fine art - the "Lock". If you never actually sat down to think how they work, it is fascinating in its simplicity. Here is a cool simulation that shows the basic idea.
Summary of cool points:
Talk about cool things! If you want to see it in motion, click this link and select the "presentation video".
Now, a couple of things I find are really cool about this:
Here is the problem - you have a canal, and it either needs to change height (think long "sloping" canal), or intersect another canal system or river at another height (this would correspond to the "waterfall running into another river".
Well, there is a classic solution to this problem, one that has developed over the years into a fine art - the "Lock". If you never actually sat down to think how they work, it is fascinating in its simplicity. Here is a cool simulation that shows the basic idea.
Summary of cool points:
- The lock can operate in both directions - boats can go up and down
- It theoretically takes no energy to run the lock, if you don't count the change of height in the water. Put another way, no water is pumped, and there is only friction on the doors.
- It is pretty fail safe. By angling the doors slightly toward the upstream end, it can be arranged that the pressure of the water against the doors forces them closed - only after the water level is equalized will it be possible to open them. Terrorist-proof!
This does not mean that locks are not without a few problems:
- There is a practical maximum height to a lock. If the lock gets too high, those really tall doors have to be quite strong to hold back the water. Note that the door height it not the depth of the canal, but rather then drop required plus two times the canal depth. When there is a big drop, a sequence of locks must be used - in some cases upwards of a dozen. It takes a long time to traverse these, and people get bored.
- You have to fill those big locks full of water each time, and the water height is again twice the canal depth PLUS the drop across the lock (this is true even with cascaded locks). And of course the volume is proportional to the length of the lock. All of this filling takes a lot of time, and it can actually take a lot of water. If the drop is high and the canal shallow, the canal gets to flow like a river, even if it is flat!
Well, there is another way, it has just been impractical until recently. Consider if you could take a strip of the canal, ship and all, lift it with a crane (think LARGE bathtub!), rotate the crane and place it alongside the (lower) canal. Then open the walls to the bathtub and off goes the ships.
Well, cool idea, but not practical. Consider:
- One hell of a big and heavy bathtub! No crane is going to be able to life it.
- It would take a lot of energy to move the bathtub uphill! Bundles of energy.
- Big disaster in the making. Heck, we can't even build bridges without them falling down occasionally.
And that's how the world stayed - until 2002. But not so fast - it wouldn't be fun for me!
The first step is to take a lesson from a vernicular. There are the cable cars that ride up and down a mountain, usually in pairs. They take little energy, because the car going down helps to pull the car going up - if the passenger weights match exactly no energy is required.
How does this relate to our canal problem? Well, let's take the bathtub now, put it on wheels with a cable arrangement, and make a vericular. Now we have solved the energy problem, provided the cable does not break. And you get a bonus - it doesn't even matter how much the ships weight, because they displace exactly their weight in water (think about this some...).
Now we get to our modern solution. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, take a look at this link on the Falkirk Wheel.
Talk about cool things! If you want to see it in motion, click this link and select the "presentation video".
Now, a couple of things I find are really cool about this:
- The two sides exactly counterbalance each other. They claim that to perform a rotation uses about as much energy as boiling 6 tea kettles of water!
- It is pretty fail safe - no cables to break
- It uses some really techie gear work to keep things from spilling. Interested? Read about it here.
- Form followed function, but the form is really nice!
- It uses very little water - only to the depth of the canal. And water is returned, in a way. Put another way, although some mixing occurs, the same water keeps going back and forth (except that "vacated" when the boats leave). So you could say that no net water is transferred between the canals (or two rivers). Compare that with the canal lock system (it is estimated that if the Falkirk wheel was built, the previous system in the same place took 11 locks).
Isn't technology wonderful?
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Normal weekend day, nothing special
Well, today has turned out to be pretty normal. It was finally time to put the snow tires on the cars (OK, only one car, havn't gotten around to the others yet). Chocolate chip cookies were baked (yumm), and Nina cooked some Borsch. Ok, LOTs of Borsch. Also yumm. So I guess it was a yumm day.
Oh, one other amusing thing. G now officially has purple hair! This just proves that you are never too old for this. Here she is:
Heck, not only is her hair purple, but she can be color coordinated as well!
Well, today has turned out to be pretty normal. It was finally time to put the snow tires on the cars (OK, only one car, havn't gotten around to the others yet). Chocolate chip cookies were baked (yumm), and Nina cooked some Borsch. Ok, LOTs of Borsch. Also yumm. So I guess it was a yumm day.
Oh, one other amusing thing. G now officially has purple hair! This just proves that you are never too old for this. Here she is:
Heck, not only is her hair purple, but she can be color coordinated as well!
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