voice-operated camera control
Photographer and software developer Scott Forman has written software to control a Canon camera connected to a computer (think studio shooting) with voice commands.
Very very slick.
How to be late by being early
My drive to the train station requires me to cross over the very tracks I will be riding on in order to park.
So imagine my joy at being stopped at the crossing by the very train I take because it was 5 minutes early. And, of course, because it was 5 minutes early, it just sat there and waited for 5 minutes. And so I sat there, on the wrong side of the tracks, unable to move, and watched my train leave the station on time.
I'm sure my boss was really pleased to hear my voicemail this morning explaining how I was going to be late because I missed my train.
After having such a good week last week, this week has been really difficult and stressful. I'm glad it will be over soon.
Fail x5 follow-up
A follow-up to my previous post regarding the structural failure of my Sandisk Extreme III SD card.
Sandisk will not issue a RMA because "physical damage" is not covered by the warranty. They, of course, don't care that (in all likelihood) it was their own card reader that caused these problems. It's frustrating because this was a gift last Christmas and a higher speed one at that.
So I guess we'll have to buy a new card. Though, I'm tempted to just remove the remaining three pieces of plastic and see if the card will still work in our camera and card reader.
Getting out the vote
All three of us went to the polling station this morning and arrived right when it opened at 6. We had a 45 minute (or so) wait (I think...I can't remember now) and Nate got a "I voted" sticker. When we left the polling station the sun was up and casting a wonderful orange light over everything.
A Happy Halloween
Today, in nearly every aspect, was a great day. The weather was amazing (windows open to warm breezes on the last day in October??) and I was able to get the lawn mowed (and leaves mulched) and finish a number of other "to do" list items. Nate had a great time with all the other kids at moms group and then, in the evening we went out to visit the grandparents and do a little trick-or-treating.
Transitions
A little while ago, GapersBlock - Chicago asked for submissions for a themed photo essay. That theme was "Transitions." There were no restrictions on how one was to interpret the theme, so I submitted a couple of different ideas.
Happily, and somewhat surprisingly, two of my photos were selected for the photo essay:
http://gapersblock.com/detour/photo/20081020_transitions/ ( #3 and #7 )
When the DMV says Express they mean it
On Monday I discovered that my drivers license had expired back in July. Ooops.
So, after work on Monday, I headed down to the Express DMV facility in Chicago's Loop. It's about 5 blocks east of where I work.
I was able to walk the 5 blocks there, take my eye test, fill out the renewal form, answer questions, pay my $10, have my photo taken, receive my new license, and walk the 7 blocks west to get to the train station, and board the train in, get this:
Twenty-five minutes.
Robert Asprin has passed away
When a friend of mine started a BBS sometime in 1990, I connected and created an account. I needed a user name and, being the nerd/geek that I was (and still am), a copy of Robert Asprin's "Phule's Company" was sitting next to the computer monitor.
And so..."phule" it was and, for the most part, "phule" it's been ever since. It's difficult to comprehend that I've been using the handle for 18 years. (Though, as many know, I've been a fool for 33...)
Robert Asprin passed away, rather unexpectedly as I understand it, on Thursday. May he rest in peace.
Photographers Appreciation Night – WBEZ
On Friday after work, I attending a reception at Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ) for photographers who have contributed images for the station home page.
The evening started on their balcony, which is on the south side of Navy Pier while finger-food and drinks were available in the adjacent meeting room. I sat at a table with Torey Malatia, who is the president and general manager of the station but I was mostly a silent observer. I also met a favorite photographer of mine, metroblossom (who is also the managing editor at GapersBlock.com).
Station tours were given in small groups and a brief presentation of the new Image Archives feature of the WBEZ web page was demonstrated. Thanks to Andrew Gill, who manages the photo submittal and selection process, for highlighting my images in his presentation 
Here's the link to all the photos I've had on the home page:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Daily_Photo_Photographers.aspx?last_name=Bernhard&first_name=Rob
You can view the archive of all photos here:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Daily_Photo.aspx
The return of the shantytown
The BBC has a short report on one of the effects of the mortgage crisis: where do families go when they lose their homes?
If you're in southern California you might move to a shantytown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnOOo6tRs8
A news article here:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/sanbernardino/stories/PE_News_Local_D_tentcity28.2915a96.html
I miss the sun
Over on Tom Skilling's Weather Blog, he mentioned that, from December 1-11th, the Chicago area has received only 13% of the maximum possible sunlight it could receive for that time period. He also mentions that the average for that same time period is 39%.
http://lnk.nu/blogs.trb.com/hsn.html
We only had 784 minutes of sunlight in those 11 days. I'm on the train before sunrise and I'm on the train after sunset. The only possible chance I can get to see the sun is during lunch and, when not sick or in the hospital I've been working through lunches trying to finish producing 3 DVD's before the end of the year.
Today I actually made it out into the cold for a good portion of my lunch hour. The sun was out and, even though there was a biting wind, it was nice to see. I wish my body had not failed me during my walk, or I would have enjoyed it even more.
With thanks
I cannot express to you, dear reader, how much crap (both literal and figurative) 
helloheather has had to deal with over the past 8 days. I cannot describe how much work this has all been and how it continues to be. I cannot begin to illuminate you on how bad she feels in her belief that she allowed others to become sick because of us. (A belief I do not share.)
What I can tell you, however, is how grateful I am to have someone as strong and as smart and as compassionate as helloheather in my life. Someone who has taken all that this illness has thrown at her (and continues to throw at her), and yet remains dedicated, caring, optimistic, and loving.
I am blessed.
5 Places – A response to strangedavid
somebodystrange asked (oh so long ago): "A young photographer is looking for suggestions of five places to go in Chicagoland to take photos. Where do you send him and why?"
I've really struggled with this question, probably due to over-thinking it.
Photography covers such a broad spectrum...because it covers everything. Pretty tourist scenes to hard-core photojournalism to abstractions. So, my brain started trying to pick a category and from that category,choose 5 locations.
And then I thought perhaps I should tie my answers to my own photography project. Should I pick 5 areas that I've visited and enjoyed? But that is such a specific and narrow focus (a 2 mile radius), would it not be too limiting?
So here's what I've come up with. Chicago is the city of neighborhoods. It's a city built on individual communities all tied together. I want to visit these communities; I want to learn about who lives there, who works there, and what there is to photograph. With that in mind, I would instruct the young photographer thus:
From downtown Chicago, pick an El train line. Ride it for however long you want and then exit. Walk back to the station you started from. Repeat 4 more times choosing a different line each time. What you see depends on how far you want to walk, but what you will gather is a detailed view of what Chicago really /is/. An alternate method to this plan would be to exit the El and walk the neighborhood around that stop for the time it would take to walk back to your point origin.
Oh and one addendum: make sure to travel up and down the lakeshore by way of the bike path. The views are nice.