Why do we accept such pathetic mediocrity in our politicians?

In one of their songs, the band Gov't Mule has the following lyrics:

"We're at a place in history where the bar is at an all time low

We've applauded mediocrity till there is no lower we can go".

Those lyrics are so true these days.  Every time I watch the news and see the moronic things our politicians are doing, I'm stunned at how stupid, clueless, and totally disconnected most of them are.  It does indeed seem like the bar is at an all time low.  I don't know where these people come from.  Not to mention that they still haven't learned not to send half naked photos of themselves on Twitter, but that's a whole other story...

I don't have to speak at length about the debt debate that took place within the last month.  It was so disheartening to see that our elected officials can't put aside partisanship and posturing long enough to do something right for our country for the long term.  Instead they took us to the brink and made a bad economic situation even worse.  They should all be voted out of office in the next elections, but they probably won't be because by then we'll probably have settled into the "life goes on" mode that we normally fall back into once the fury of political unrest dies down. That's how these people stay in office.

So let's get to one specific person who epitomizes mediocrity and the bar being at an all time low:  Michele Bachmann.

About a month ago, Bachmann made some completely idiotic public statements about same-sex marriage and the gay/lesbian lifestyle.  She basically said that the gay lifestyle deserves no recognition and some other ridiculous things that were even worse.  You can find her comments just by searching her name and the word 'gay' in Google.  Then the press dug up some undercover recordings that profess to show that a clinic that she and her husband run attempts to "cure" people of the gay lifestyle.  What?  I heard the recordings, and they were quite bizarre and creepy to say the least.  I'm sure you can find them by using Google.

What the hell?  How does a person running for President of the United States get off making comments like this, especially in these technological times where they know everything that they say and do will end up going around the world on social networks almost instantly?

I'm not going to say in print what I think she is.  As I was watching this on TV, I just sat there stunned and it left me thinking of the lyrics above from the Gov't Mule song.

So, what happens next.  The Iowa State Fair, where they were conducting a straw pole of the GOP candidates to see who the front runners are.  Guess who won.  Michele Bachmann.

She was subsequently taken to task in every interview that I saw with her, and she tried to back-peddle and explain her way out of her comments.....which only made her look 100 times worse.

I'm telling you....I just don't understand this.  Why does the U.S. public tolerate, and actually further endorse people like this?  She should be stripped of her current office, run out of town, and never be elected to any public office ever again.  People should not forget the things that she said, or the misguided things that other politicians say either.  These are the people who WE are choosing to represent US.  I certainly don't want her representing me.  She's a complete embarrassment.  

I absolutely cringe at the thought of Michele Bachmann being President of the United States.  This country should be able to do so much better than her.  If she ever makes it to the 2012 Presidential election, please don't vote for her.
 

Review: The best apps for reading effectively on the iPad

I'll give you the punchline to this post up front...

All you need for great reading on the iPad are the following apps:
iBooks, Kindle, Zinio, Feeddler, Zite, and Flipboard.

Now read on to find out why...

This is another one of my "real world" reviews. You can talk about every feature of each app that I list here for a long time. But instead of doing a feature by feature review, I'm simply going to talk about why they work effectively to make reading on the iPad a great experience.  An experience that has, in fact, led me to go paperless for most of my reading.

In order to set yourself up for reading effectively on the iPad (and to make it more fun!), you first need to determine what it is that you want to read. Books? Magazines? RSS feeds? All of them? The reason I suggest this first step is because there's no one app that does all of these things, so if you have broad reading tastes then you'll want to get several of the apps on my list to get the job done right for you. I'll cover these content sources one by one below with my recommendations.

Books:

If reading books is your pleasure, use the iBooks and Kindle apps. There are other book readers out there (like Google Books), but they simply don't compare to iBooks and Kindle.

If the cost of a new book is one of your primary concerns, then always check the price of a new book between Kindle and iBooks. I've found that Kindle is almost always less expensive than iBooks in the US.  If you don't have a strong preference for which one of these readers that you use, buy your books from the least expensive choice.

Cost aside, both Kindle and iBooks offer a lot of similar features and some other unique ones as well that may help you to pick one or the other as your primary reader.  For sure, the format of the ebooks for both readers will be around for a long time, so you don't have to worry that your books will suddenly become obsolete.  eBooks are here to stay.

Some (but not all) of the key features of iBooks:

1. Seamless experience between the iBooks store, your library, and the reading experience.
2. Capability to store your books in 'Collections' to organize them by topic.
3. Capability to import and read PDF's like any other book.
4. Built in one-touch dictionary and/or search for a highlighted word or phrase.
5. Fully searchable content.
6. Capability to bookmark.
7. Capability to select fonts, font sizes, and sepia or white page color.
8. Capability to highlight text and add notes to highlighted text.
9. Many classic books from famous authors (e.g., Charles Dickens) are free!

Some (but not all) of the key features of Kindle:

1. Kindle eBooks are typically less expensive than iBooks.
2. Capability to select fonts, font sizes, and sepia, white, or black page color.
3. Built in one-touch dictionary and/or search for a highlighted word or phrase.
4. Capability to highlight text and add notes to highlighted text.
5. Fully searchable content.
6. Capability to share your highlighted items with the Kindle community for the book you're reading, and have their highlighted items appear in your book as well.  I guess you could call this "social reading".  I'm not entirely sure of the major benefit of this, but it is unique to Kindle.

Have eBooks totally replaced paper books in our house?  No.  I still buy print books when there's a likelihood that I'll be referencing a book frequently or it's an art-book like a large format photography coffee table book that needs to be seen in all of its large format splendor.  But other than those two exceptions, almost all books that we buy now are electronic because the benefits of eBooks far outweigh the paper versions....especially being able to take your whole library with you anywhere that you go!

Magazines:

If you're a big magazine reader, then use the Zinio app. Zinio has over 4,000 magazines available for online subscription and/or individual issue purchase, and the price is always the same or less than the print version of the same magazine.

The nice thing about reading electronic magazines is that the publishers often add extra interactive multimedia content to their electronic versions.  Even if it's just live web links that have been added within the text, just having that is better than the print version. But often, there's much more than that. National Geographic, for example, adds video, audio interviews, and slide shows to the electronic version of their magazines. Obviously that's something that you can't get in the print versions, and it makes for a much more interactive and enjoyable reading experience.

On top of that, here are two other great things.  First, there's no clutter. You don't have stacks of old magazines hanging around. Second, your entire library is searchable. So, for example,  if you remember an article about traveling in Australia that appeared in National Geographic but you can't remember when you saw it, simply search and you shall find!  I rarely use the back issues of my paper magazines for just this reason....it would take too long to find anything by flipping through the pages of so many paper issues.

All of my magazines are now electronic.

RSS feeds:

If you look in the Apple App Store, there are a lot of RSS readers out there.  Some of them are free and others can cost up to $5 for an ad-free version. If you subscribe to a lot of websites and/or blog feeds, a good RSS reader is essential for easy reading.

You could just use Google Reader to read your RSS feeds, but I'm going to give you a much better strategy here....

First, definitely use Google Reader to subscribe to your feeds to keep them all in a central location.  The reason I suggest this is because all of the most popular RSS reader apps will interface with your Google Reader account to pull in your feeds from Google, so if you centralize all of your feeds in Google Reader then you'll be impacted minimally if you change your RSS reader app down the road.

Second, don't use Google Reader for RSS reading.  It's downright clunky at best, and it can be confusing at worst when you're trying to find new feeds instead of ones that you've already read, etc.  As with all of the Google tools (Gmail, Calendar, etc), Reader is outdated and in serious need of a total overhaul.

Third, download the free version of Feeddler to actually read and process your feeds from your Google account.  Feeddler is a fully customizable RSS reader that you can set up to manage and read your feeds the exact way that you want to.  Want to see all new items from all of your feeds since the last time that you opened the app?  Want to go back through items you've already read to find something that you want to reference again?  Want to mark something as a favorite and have that mark synchronized with your Google Reader account for future reference or to share with someone?  All of these things are no problem for Feeddler to handle.  And there's so much more.  It really pays to spend some time exploring this app.

Feeddler makes managing my feeds and getting through new RSS items as easy as I think it can possibly be.  There are other apps that are similar to Feeddler (most notably Reeder), but for some of them you have to pay for the full version up front, while Feeddler is free if you're willing to have some banner ads on the bottom of your screen.  If you don't like the Feeddler banners then you can buy the full version for $5 and get rid of them.

Customized Magazines:

This is where the fun starts....

Zite and Flipboard have both revolutionized the concept of creating a personalized online magazine that gets updated daily with content of your choosing.

Both apps offer you the capability to have many sources of news content sent to your virtual magazine (including pulling in content from your social media accounts and RSS accounts if you want), but Zite takes it one step further with the fact that it begins to "understand" the articles that you like and mark as favorites, and it will load your magazine daily with more content of that same type.  Flipboard does not do this, and therefore it's more of a simple news-pushing type of app.

Both apps have curated content in which editors select the best and/or most popular news stories from a large variety  of topics and news sources.  All you have to do is include the sections you want in your magazine, and you're done.  It's updated daily with the latest news.

Both of the apps feature elegant but different interfaces, the capability to email links to articles, include social media in your magazine, mark items as favorites, and post to your social media tools.

The reason that I use both of them instead of just one is because they both offer slightly different content sources, so when I use them both I get a very good cross section of topics that I'm interested in, instead of using just one and missing some key news areas that I like to follow.

So, in a nutshell real-world sort of way, the information above explains why I believe these apps are just about all you need for reading on the iPad.  I'm sure the latest and greatest apps will come along to knock Zite and Flipboard off their popularity pedestal, but I think that iBooks, Kindle, and Zinio are here to stay for sure.  They are very solid at what they do, and they deserve their strong and loyal user-bases.

I hope you'll spend some time to fully explore these apps to learn all that they have to offer.  Enjoy your reading, and I hope you find this post useful!
 

Vinylmations

Uh-oh.  I ran across this picture today in the Disney Parks Blog and it got me thinking, "Who's this little guy?".

As I read the article posted there, it seems like Disney is starting out what I'm sure will be a hugely popular collectible series called Vinylmations!  You can read all about them at this link and you can see them in the Disney Store at this link.

Disney fans are going to go bonkers for these things, especially those who like Mickey Mouse.  All Vinylmations are in the shape of Mickey, but the sky's the limit with regard to the artwork painted onto the Mickey form.  They have tons of these little guys....and I'm sure there are many more to come.

Well, it looks like this will be another thing that will suck money out of my pocket on the next trip to Disney!  I wrote in this previous post here on my blog that I just started collecting Disney pins, and now this comes along!

I give up....At this point, I think that I should just turn my bank account over to Disney.  :-)

Travel and Review: Fire Island Lighthouse, NY (with photos)

I took a recent day trip out to Long Island, NY to go to Robert Moses Beach and the Fire Island Lighthouse.  This is a relaxing way to spend a beach day in this area, so I thought I would put up a quick post about it for those who might be interested...

There are two large beach complexes with various parking fields in this area, all accessible via Ocean Parkway.  If you're driving from west to east on Ocean Parkway, the first you'll come upon is Jones Beach State Park and the second is Robert Moses State Park.  I don't need to repeat a lot of the information available at these links to explain these two state parks.  Suffice to say that there's more than enough information there for you to read....

In a nutshell, these two massive beach complexes each have their own personality.  Since Jones Beach is the first complex on Ocean Parkway that people come to (and thus the most accessible), the primary ocean front parking fields tend to fill up fairly quickly on any given summer day.  Spillover parking then goes to the non-primary parking lots, which require a short walk to get to the beaches.  Jones Beach tends to draw a younger crowd than Robert Moses, and when combining that with the crowd levels that can swell there (especially on weekends!!!), it can be too much for comfort for my beach-going tastes.  We only go to Jones Beach when I take the day off from work and we go on a weekday.  Weekends should be avoided unless you go early in the morning before the crowds get there and then leave when the crowds start to swell too large.

To avoid some of the crowd levels at Jones Beach, I take the extra 20 minutes to drive further down Ocean Parkway and over the Robert Moses Causeway to the Robert Moses State Park complex.  You'll drop some of the crowd just because of the extra drive time and the beaches here are typically a little less crowded than Jones Beach.  Robert Moses also tends to be a little more family oriented but still obviously draws its fair share of young people.  Some of the beaches at Robert Moses are designated as radio-free zones.

We typically park at Field 5 at Robert Moses, which is the eastern-most field that's right next to Fire Island Lighthouse.  The nice thing about this field is its proximity to the Lighthouse, which allows you to take a little walk on a boardwalk through a nature preserve to explore the Lighthouse and the museum at its base.  Additionally, it's nice to park at Field 5 because if you take a little walk east up the beach from the parking field the crowds drop off dramatically.  Be cautioned that if you walk far enough east and the beach becomes isolated enough, you'll probably bump into some nude sunbathers.  Whether or not that bothers you is up to you to decide!  :-)

If you do go to Robert Moses and you park in Field 5, I would recommend spending about 90 minutes out of your day to walk to the Lighthouse, climb to the top, take some photos of the great views, and explore the nice museum at its base.  It's easy to spend even more time than this while there because there's plenty of history in the museum about Fire Island Lighthouse and lighthouses in general, as well as a gift shop and nice staff that will be more than happy to engage you in a conversation about the history of Fire Island Light.

Depending on where you live and how you go home, a stop in Freeport, NY for dinner is a nice idea.  Specifically, there's a street on the waterways there called Woodcleft Avenue that has a long line of waterfront restaurants and bars to choose from.  I've eaten at several of them and they're all pretty good, although I wouldn't say any of them are "great".  The dinner crowd starts to pick up around 6:30pm in this area and by 7:30pm it starts to get pretty crowded, so make sure you get there before then if you don't want to wait for a table.

With all of this being said, click on the photo below to see a few pictures from a recent day-trip that I took to Robert Moses State Park and the Fire Island Lighthouse with my family.  Enjoy!

Fire Island, NY

Travel and Review: Newport, RI (with photos)

Castle Hill Inn, photographed from Newport Harbor

I've been going to Newport in Rhode Island for vacation since I was a kid when my parents used to take our family there.  Thirty years later, I now take my family there, and it's a relaxing and enjoyable trip.

My impressions of Newport now as an adult are echoed by the same types of memories that I have of Newport as a child.  As soon as I make the right turn off the Newport Bridge and drive toward America's Cup Avenue on the water front, a wave of relaxation comes over me every time and stays with me the entire time I'm there.  Good stuff.... 

The general vicinity of activities in Newport is encompassed within a couple of square miles, but the core of the primary activities that you'll probably do is located in an area of just a few square blocks along the Newport water front of America's Cup Avenue and some of the surrounding blocks in that area.

What to do:

Let's get some information out of the way up front in this post with the following links for good things to do while you're in Newport:

1. Fodor's profile of Newport
2. Newport Chamber of Commerce
3. Whale watching out of Provincetown
4. Whale watching out of Barnstable
5. Sailing on the custom 50' Flyer catamaran in Newport Harbor
6. Information on touring the Newport Mansions
7. The beautiful Cliff Walk hike above the coast alongside the mansions 
8. Fort Adams State Park
9. Visit Castle Hill Inn to relax on the lawn with a drink overlooking Newport Harbor.
10. Shopping in the quaint shops on America's Cup Avenue.
11. Cape Cod is within an easy drive of Newport, and this might merit adding some extra time to your vacation if you want to explore the Cape while you're in Newport. 
12. Going to the beaches, although this is not my primary choice of activity in Newport. 
13. Enjoy a few pints of Newport Storm IPA beer!  :-)

That should keep you busy!

I've found that three full days in Newport is a good amount of time to strike a balance between activities and relaxation, especially if you're traveling with kids. That would generally mean an activity in the morning, a break for lunch, and an activity in the afternoon.  If you're not traveling with kids (who get tired eventually) or you want to add some time on Cape Cod, then four days is probably better.

The Elms mansion....definitely a must-see activity!

Of all the activities above, I can particularly recommend the Cliff Walk, sailing on the Flyer catamaran, and touring one or more of the mansions.  These are classic Newport activities that everyone should experience.  If you go to the mansions, then try to see The Breakers, The Elms, and/or Marble House.  These are the best of the mansions and they offer an incredible glimpse of the wealth of the gilded age and the lifestyle of the rich and famous in Newport at that time.  Every time I see these mansions I just stare at the beauty of them.  What craftsmanship and extravagance!  There's a bathroom in The Breakers that actually has hot and cold running sea water in the bathtub!  And the ballrooms are magnificent...

A note about the beaches.  Newport has several beaches to pick from (Easton's Beach, 1st Beach, 2nd Beach, 3rd Beach) but I would say that Newport isn't exactly known for its beaches.  First, they can be rocky and have a lot of shells.  Second, due to the geography of the region, there's often a lot of seaweed that washes into the coves where the beaches are located.  Don't get me wrong.  The beaches are OK, but if you're looking for beautiful wide sandy beaches with crashing waves, Newport is not the place to look for that.  You would need to go out onto Cape Cod for "better" beaches...

Where to eat:

The outdoor section of The Black Pearl.  Good food, great location!

When it comes to dining, the water front wharfs on America's Cup Avenue are packed with restaurants to choose from.  Most of them offer some kind of outdoor dining with views of Newport Harbor in addition to their indoor seating.  I don't think I've ever had a bad lunch or dinner in Newport.   Many of the restaurants have been in their current locations for a long time, and that's a good indicator because competition on the water front is fierce.  If any of the restaurants were truly bad, I'm sure they would close quickly.  One note....If you're headed out to the water front for dinner on the weekend in the summer, make sure you get there by 5:00pm or you'll be waiting for a long time to get a table.  Weeknights are a little better for seating, but not much.

Some of my favorite restaurants include those at the links here:

1. The Black Pearl
2. The Gas Lamp Grille
3. The Barking Crab
4. The Red Parrot
   

Where to stay:

Store fronts on Thames Street

There are many different types of accommodations in Newport.  Right in the center of town by America's Cup Avenue and Thames Street there are quaint Victorian bed and breakfast inns and a few larger hotels (Marriott, Hyatt, Newport Hotel).  All of these book up early in the summer for the prime summer weekends, so unless you plan ahead you might be prevented from getting a room in these areas simply because they're all full.  The other issue with staying in the prime areas of town is the cost.  All rooms in these locations are over $200/night, and some of them are a lot more.  The Hyatt on Goat Island is one of the most expensive hotels in Newport.

If you're OK with staying 5-10 minutes outside of town, then the Holiday Inn Express at this link or the Courtyard Marriott at this link in Middletown are perfectly viable options.  In fact, I just stayed at the Marriott and it was nice, clean, convenient, and had a good indoor/outdoor pool.

In summary:

The shops and restaurants along Bowen's Wharf in town...

As you can tell from this post, I really enjoy visiting Newport.  It's a bit on the expensive side and I wouldn't put it on my list of places that I need to go every year for vacation, but every 2-3 years I go back there for a few days and I always enjoy it.  It's like re-reading a good book or watching a good movie that you've seen before.  You know what it's about, but you still love reading and watching them again.  Newport is like that.  It doesn't change at all over the years and has been kept up nicely, and it's always ready for a return visit.  It's consistently a fun, relaxing, nice way to spend a few summer days.  Enjoy!
 
 

Disney Pin Trading - The addiction (and fun) begins!

My starter set of pins...

When I went to Disney back in the 1990's with my wife, Disney was just getting started with pin trading.  For those who don't know what this is, it's the process of buying and trading metallic pins that you can get at stands in the Disney parks around the world that are adorned with all kinds of scenes related to the Disney parks, characters, movies, etc.

There are thousands of different pins available to date.  Anniversary pins, annual pins, specialized pins, limited edition pins.  You name it, there's a pin for it.  Shockingly, a big missed opportunity for Disney is that they don't publish an annual guide of all the pins, which I'm sure many people in the hobby would love to have and be willing to pay for.

Even back in the 90's when it was just getting started, I could see the potential popularity of the pin trading hobby because people of all ages swarmed the few pin buying stations that Disney had in each park looking for pins to fit into their growing collection.  I was intrigued by this and went over to one of the stands to check out the pins.

I quickly saw that it can be an expensive hobby!  The most basic pins are about $7, the typical fancier pins are around $10, and they get even more expensive than that depending on how complex/fancy the pin is.  Over the years, the prices have remained pretty much the same, and I would imagine that they have to because how expensive can you make a pin???  There's a price point that these things need to stay at so people will buy them over a period of years. 

At the time, I didn't get into the hobby because quite frankly I didn't want to spend the money on it.  Then, on our last trip to Disney in 2010, my kids expressed an interest in buying pins.  Although I heroically resisted this additional expense on what was already turning out to be a very costly trip, I caved in and bought the kids some pins.  They were thrilled to get them.  And thus a new hobby in my family was born...

We all started talking about the pins, stopping at the pin stands, looking at other people's pins, etc.  Once you get into it, all of a sudden you'll notice them all over the place!  And the Disney cast members walking around the parks wear them too, so you can walk up to them and ask them to trade (which they always do).  Even I got into it when my wife bought me a collector's edition starter kit for Christmas.  You can see it in the photo above where they're attached to the red pin lanyard.  I like to collect the pins that have scenes of the parks and Disney hotels in them.

Now I can't wait to get there this year to see which new pins to add to my collection!!!  I can feel the money being sucked out of my wallet before we even get there....at $10 a pin!  When you add this to my "Disney coffee mug" hobby (I buy at least two on every trip there), I'm not going to have enough money for gas to drive home!

It's now a little over ten years since Disney started pin trading.  Wisely, they've made it possible to get some pins online at the 'Pin Trading Around The World' website at this link to extend their selling opportunities once people leave the parks.  At this site there are links to their pin trading blog, the pin store, and other helpful information for those just starting out with collecting.

Here are two interesting stories about pin trading:

1. Getting to the Point with Disney Pins
2. Big Pin Hunting at Disney

If you weren't previously aware of all this, check out the Disney Pin Trading website and all of the pin trading activities and locations the next time you're in the parks.  But bring some extra cash, because I bet that you too will soon be hooked on collecting and trading Disney pins.  See more photos below...

Decisions, decisions.  Which pin to buy???!!!

A smile as they check out the shiny new pin purchases...

  

Happy July 4th - Independence Day

Happy July 4th! 

I was out with the family this weekend and saw this flag on top of the Walkway Over The Hudson.  I was feeling patriotic so I snapped this shot of it in the wind from far away and added an inner glow to the edge of the frame for a unique look.

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing on this U.S. Independence Day, I hope you're enjoying your barbecues, cold beer, fireworks, and good music with family and friends.

Add a thought of hope that we can work together to get this great country of ours out of the wars that we're in overseas so that our military can come home and we can focus on getting the U.S. back on track to enjoy peace and prosperity once again.  We need to stop spending so much money overseas on wars that we can't win and instead start taking care of ourselves for a change....
   

New free photo apps from Fotopedia (North Korea and Burma)

In this previous post about Fotopedia, I mentioned the nice photo apps that Fotopedia has put together and offered for free or a nominal charge.  This is just a quick post to let people know that they've added two more nice free apps to their catalog that are available for download now:

1. "Dreams of Burma", which is available at this link.
2. "North Korea", which is available at this link.

Both of them share all of the features that I've previously mentioned about these apps.  Enjoy!
  

"The Photographer's Eye" - Now available as an iPad app!

Back in 2009, I wrote a brief review at this link of one of my favorite photography books called "The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman.  I've read this book twice now and it stands up well to repeated readings, and in fact I discovered new things the second time around that perhaps I didn't quite fully absorb the first time.

This is one book that I consider essential reading for any photography enthusiast.  Considering that, I was pretty excited to hear that this book has now been converted and enhanced for release as an iPad app!  A very well selling iPad app, at that.  You can read the details about the new app at this link.

Even though I already own this book, I enjoyed it so much that I plan to purchase the iPad app as well.  I'm intrigued at the thought of the extra multimedia content in the app that goes above and beyond the book, and I consider the price small relative to the amount of value that I've gotten out of all of Michael Freeman's books.

If you buy the app, I would like to hear your feedback on it.  Please add a comment to this post with your thoughts.  Thanks!
 

Review: Incase Book Jacket for iPad 2

I occasionally put reviews up here on my blog about products that I think are well designed and that will probably be useful for a lot of people to read.  Since millions of people own iPads, and many of them probably want a good case for their shiny new purchase, I thought this would be a good topic for a review.

We recently got an iPad 2, and with the swapping from person to person and location to location that this great device is going to end up seeing because everyone wants to use it all the time, my thoughts turned to getting a good case for it right after I walked out of the Apple store.

You'll discover that the Apple Smart Cover is really quite silly after you spend some time checking it out.  First, it offers very little actual protection for the iPad.  If you drop your iPad with a Smart Cover on, the iPad is going to get damaged.  It's as simple as that.  Second, it's clumsy.  It flops around when it's open, it unfolds when you're trying to use it as a stand, etc.  Third, it scratches the back of the iPad in the spot where the magnets attach, if you care about such things.  Fourth, the price of $40 is a complete rip-off.

So...After eliminating the Apple Smart Cover, I went to the local giant electronics store (near me, that's Best Buy) to check out the myriad of iPad 2 cases they have.  I was in the market for:

1. A case made of high quality material
2. A case that's compact
3. A case that would protect the iPad well but also give access to all of the buttons
4. A case that's comfortable to hold.  I didn't want to have to take the iPad in and out of the case just to use it.

I quickly eliminated most of the cases at the store because after brief examination it was clear that they didn't meet the four essential criteria above.  Some of them were flimsy pieces of junk, others protected the back but not the front, others were far too bulky, etc.

Then I saw the Incase Book Jacket for iPad 2.  Perfect!  This case is priced around $50, but that seems to be about average for the better quality book-style cases for the iPad.  The Book Jacket completely protects the front, back, and edges of the iPad.  The iPad securely fits into the right side of the case and a velcro tab holds it very securely in place.  Perfect.

More than offering simple protection though, the case is also versatile.  It can be opened and held like a book, or the cover can be folded back to make it easier to hold.  Depending on how you fold the cover, you also get some other different functionality.  You can fold it and use the handy built-in strap to create a working angle to type on.  You can flip the cover over the other way and prop the iPad up at one of three different viewing angles for movies, TV shows, or reading.  Photos of all of these positions are available at this link on the Incase website.

This is all contained in a thin, well built, suede lined book jacket that adds (relatively speaking) very little additional thickness to the iPad for what this case is.

After owning this case for several months, it still looks as good as new and I still think it's great......and that's the sign of a good product.  If you're shopping for a case for your iPad and you want a nice book style design, definitely check out the Incase Book Jacket.  If you don't like this case, they also make lots of other cases for the full line of Apple products.  Good luck with your shopping!
 

Pathways #3: I've had a photographic epiphany!

Unfortunately, I haven't posted much over the past two weeks.  I think I've been somewhat jinxed.  Many things have been going wrong around the house and fixing those things (including my newly dislocated knee!) have taken priority over everything else for a while.

But now I'm back...and returning to my Pathways series for a quick post.

My previous posts focused on learning more about your camera so that you can take it off full automatic mode to take control of the photographic process, and how to manage your in-camera exposures to get punchier and livelier photos straight out of your camera without editing them afterward on your computer.  This post is a bit of a divergence from those topics, and I hope you find it a valuable change of course....

I had an interesting discussion with another photographer recently.  We were discussing the fact that your photography will usually improve by leaps and bounds when you have a strong passion for what you're photographing.  If you're walking around not really caring too much about what you're taking photos of then you won't strive to improve your photography and how you represent your subjects.  But if you have passion for your subject and really want to do it justice, then you'll find a way to do it better.

Another topic we discussed is how I have an interest in many different types of subjects (old architecture, decaying objects, storms, odd things, etc) and that I don't focus on just one with excessive passion.  He proposed to me that I should try to focus my attention on one subject area for a while to try to hone my skills when dealing with just that subject matter.

As I thought about his point last night, I can't say that I disagree....but the problem is that I'm not interested in dialing in on one specific subject matter for any period of time.  It's just not my thing to restrict myself that way.  Then I thought a little more about the subjects that I shoot and how I shoot them, and I had a photographic epiphany.

Photographically speaking, one of the primary things that interests me is extreme lighting.  It doesn't really matter what the subject is, but extreme lighting on a scene (either light or darkness) almost always catches my attention right away.

When I look back at some of my best photos, they fall into the category of having extreme lighting.  I have photos of children in extreme light, landscapes in extreme light, even photos of barns, other random objects, and flowers in extreme light.  But for sure, extreme lighting is the single common denominator that runs through my better images.

Two simple images from my library that show what I'm talking about are below.  I went against conventional wisdom in the first photo and shot directly into the setting sun for a nice effect.  In the second photo, I carefully metered the scene to get my daughter's face right and then I let almost everything else go dark.  They're two simple examples of how to use extreme lighting for nice results.

Shooting directly into the sun to silhouette the playing children....

My daughter cleaning up her spilled cereal in a shaft of sunlight....

If you want to read a great book that discusses the type of lighting and shooting situations that I'm referring to in this post, check out the above book by Duncan Evans called "Extreme Lighting Conditions in Digital Photography".   This book has many samples of exactly what I like and how to achieve success with shooting in these types of lighting conditions.

Moral of the story:  I don't necessarily have a single subject that I'm passionate about, but I do have a single style that I'm passionate about....which is extreme lighting.  Now that I've realized this after doing it unconsciously for years, I can hopefully make a big jump in my photographic portfolio by trying to use my passion for this type of lighting to create better photos.  I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Try to spend some time finding the subject or style that you're passionate about, and work to improve your skills in that area.  It's a great way to jump-start your creativity and improve your skills.
 

This is why we should have let GM fail

This article is the epitome of why the U.S. government should have let GM fail.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/07/news/companies/gm_gas_tax_hike/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2

Dan Akerson is a clueless moron, as are the American auto industry executives in general.  I can’t even imagine that an executive would come up with this idea, let alone back it with his company’s name in tow. 

One thing is for sure....You would never hear the executives of Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, or Kia making this type of idiotic embarrassing recommendation.  They found a way to clobber the U.S. auto makers at their own game decades ago, and still do.  They don't need to mess with gas prices to succeed.  I can only imagine them laughing when they saw this headline.....

I resent the fact that I would need to pay higher gas prices to make up for the mistakes of the stupid GM executives that have been in place over the decades.  I also resent the fact that my tax dollars went to helping with the GM bailout in the first place, which will eventually fail...it's only a matter of time.  Historically, auto company bailouts have not worked here or in other countries.

This has nothing to do with the U.S. auto workers.  I whole-heartedly support the American auto workers and what they do, I just don't support the stupid companies they work for.

Do you want to rescue the American auto industry and save the auto workers' jobs at the same time?  Do it this way:

1. Let GM fail.
2. Provide labor and financial incentives for the Japanese and Korean manufacturers to come over to the U.S. (more than they already are).
3. Lease them our auto factories so that we can keep American jobs here.
4. Have the U.S. auto workers building high quality efficient foreign cars that don't need artificially inflated gas prices to survive.
5. Everyone ends up happy.

The American auto industry executives are completely clueless.  Utterly and completely clueless.  This is why I will always have foreign cars parked in my driveway.  Period.
 

Go beyond...for getting the best shots of your kids

I don't often re-post other people's links, but this is such a short article with great advice for getting more compelling photos of your kids that I couldn't resist posting it here.

I've tried all of these techniques in the past so it was nice to see them all written up in one place.  If you give them a try, you'll instantly notice your photography of your children jump to a more interesting and creative level. 

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-go-beyond-the-regular-composition-advice-for-getting-the-best-shots-of-your-kids

Grab your camera (and your kids) and give it a shot!  Enjoy!
 

Fotopedia: Explore our world with fantastic photos and iPad apps

I got an iPad 2 recently and it's an absolutely fantastic device.  I'll write another post about that in the near future to give a mini-review of my impressions of the iPad and the iOS platform....but for now.....

The subject of this post has to do with one of the many photographic discoveries that I've made recently while using the iPad and some of its great photo apps.  The quality of the iPad's screen and the touch interface lend themselves well to working with photography websites, viewing photos, etc.

I'm writing this review because the Fotopedia apps that I mention below are the absolute epitome of what a well designed, highly functional, content-packed iPad app should be.  And three out of the four of them are free!

I like to explore the world visually (which I guess is obvious, since I like photography so much).  If you gave me the choice between one book about the world and all its countries and people that has mostly text and some small photos, or, a better/larger book with nice large color photos and a significantly higher price, I will gladly spend the extra money on the more visually interesting book.  Pictures help me connect with a place much more than words do.  It's as simple as that...

So, with that in mind, I stumbled across a link somewhere to Fotopedia.com.  If you have not yet seen or used this website, I would highly encourage that you spend some time checking it out.  It's a very unique way to explore our world using photography.  It's a combination of great photography, Wikipedia, and user-driven content.  It's a unique combination and definitely worth a look.

In addition to the Fotopedia website, they've created four fantastic iPad apps filled with content and tons of beautiful photographs from around the world.  In addition to continually updating these apps, Fotopedia has put bookmarking and travel planning functionality into the apps.  Great for planning future adventures!

The Fotopedia apps include:

1. Fotopedia National Parks ($2.99) with a promotional video on YouTube located at this link.  This app is filled with a wealth of information and photos about the US National Parks....all in one app.  When I say this app has nice photos......I mean gorgeous!
    
2. Fotopedia Heritage (free) with a promotional video at that link.  This app takes you on a journey to all of the World Heritage sites and the description reads:  "All of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  25,000 Pictures. 4,000 Points of Interest.  Thousands of photographers.  Hundreds of curators".  Another beautifully presented package...
   
   
3. Fotopedia Memory of Colors (free) with a promotional video at that link.  The description of this app says:  "Memory of Colors is a message of peace, tolerance and respect, for the people threatened by globalization. A 12-year project to assemble a rainbow of 1,300 photos 40 unique cultures in 18 countries (from Algeria to Yemen) and across 4 continents.  It is a pause in time and space to preserve the beauty of these disappearing cultures, before it is too late. Look into these eyes and see … the reflection of your own humanity".  It's a great way to learn about and see the different cultures around the world.
   
   
4. Fotopedia Paris (free) and the description of the app reads:  "A Paris vacation without leaving your home.  Dreaming of Paris? Now you can discover and explore the City of Light, as it’s never been seen. Packed with visual surprises and more than 4,000 spectacular photos, Fotopedia Paris makes it easy to find your way through the beauty of Paris and quickly find whatever interests you: art, architecture, cafes, castles, fashion, history, romantic sights, shopping or street life… everything is at your fingertips.  As you browse through the city, simply pick your favorite photos and places and Fotopedia Paris creates an interactive map to help you discover familiar places and “hidden gems”.  This app is gorgeous and fun, just like… Paris". 

I hope you take some time to try the Fotopedia website and apps, and send feedback to the Fotopedia team to encourage them to build more apps of this type.  With encouragement from its user base, hopefully Fotopedia will continue to produce apps that can take us on breathtaking photographic journeys around the world.  Enjoy!

Is sugar toxic? Check out these two articles...

When it comes to health, I believe in the old adage of "everything in moderation".  Eating, drinking, alcohol, exercise, sleep, etc.

This approach seems to have done me fairly well throughout the years because I'm in pretty good shape for 44 years old, but I need a little more aggressive exercise so I've recently added biking back to my exercise routine since the weather warmed up and my back injuries from past years are healed.  I also recently got tennis rackets for my wife and I, and the kids already like tennis, so that will be another family activity to burn some calories and tone up.

Back to my point.....

The one area where my diet falters is sugar.  Now more than ever, sugar in its various dubious forms (e.g., high fructose corn syrup) is so pervasive in our foods (especially processed foods) that it's almost impossible to get away from it.  Make no mistake about the fact that this huge increase in sugar over the past 10-15 years can be tied directly to an increase in diabetes.  My line of work at my current employer puts me in the know about that....trust me.  The facts are pretty clear.

I'm making an effort to cut back on my sugar intake whenever I can, and I'm helping my family do the same.  It's not easy.  You really have to think about what you're putting in your mouth.  I'm not going totally right-wing and trying to eliminate all sugar from my diet.....that's not reasonable.  All I'm trying to do is cut back where it's easy and common-sensical to do it.

The thing that really motivated me to cut back on sugar are these two articles.  The first one is an article that also contains a long video about the problems caused by excessive sugar in your diet and the science related to it.  The second is a good article from the New York Times.

1. Mercola.com - Eliminate This ONE Ingredient and Watch Your Health Soar
   
2. New York Times - Is Sugar Toxic?

Once you read these two articles I guarantee that you'll give sugar a second thought.  Again, I'm not saying to go right-wing on this like Dr. Mercola sometimes suggests that people do.  I'm simply suggesting that you think about it and maybe make some adjustments in  your diet that will do you some good in the long run.
 

iPhone - The ultimate lifestyle convergence device

Now there's a mouthful of a title for a blog post!  But I really believe it's true.  The iPhone is the ultimate convergence device for improving your lifestyle, your efficiency, your work....just about everything!  It's part phone, part computer, part personal assistant, part organizer, etc.

Let me say up front that much of what I'm writing here probably also applies to the Android platform and its related smartphones and apps, but the iPhone is what I have experience with so I'm writing about that specifically here.

I got my iPhone a few weeks ago.  My wife had one for almost a year before that so I had ancillary experience in using hers and saw the huge potential of the device.  The problem is that I was too cheap to buy one for myself!  Let's face it....these things are expensive.  Not so much the phone itself, but the monthly data plans and cell service!  Add it all up over the course of a year and it's a whopper of an extra expense to take on.

So.....the expense kept me fretting about getting one for quite a while until I just couldn't take it anymore.  There are so many times when I've been out and about doing something and it occurred to me that having an iPhone would not only come in handy, but it would also enhance the enjoyment of my life.  I finally broke down and got one.  Not once since then have I thought about the expense of owning and using it.  It's that great.  Once you have it, the expense of it fades into the distance and you forget about it.

Maybe a statement like "enhance the enjoyment of my life" sounds extreme, but to people who own and use.......and I mean really use......an iPhone, you know what I mean.  Not only do I use it for the common every day things like sending/receiving email, calling people, calendars, etc, but the world of the App Store has let me load up the phone with about 25 apps that have organized and improved my life, let me enjoy my hobbies more, let me get around easier, and many other things....including some gaming as well!

Most of the apps were free.  The most I paid for any one app was $10 for a specialized photography app that I purchased to make planning my photography outings easier.  But all together I probably didn't spend more than $30 on apps for my iPhone.

Now the iPhone never leaves my side.  I find myself reaching for it when I would have ordinarily gotten up to go to the computer in another room to do something.  News, Facebook, sports, weather, email, Flickr, Twitter, internet, casual photography, reading my RSS feeds, managing my To-Do lists, listening to music, checking prices while I'm out shopping, checking what the latest bird is in our back yard feeder, mapping my bike rides with the GPS, etc.  I do it all on the iPhone.

I read a great quote the other day in an article about smartphones.  The author of the article was trying to pin down a generic definition of what a smartphone is.  He said, “A smartphone is a device whose uses go well beyond calls and messaging. In fact, I would define it as a phone you use at least half the time for something other than calling and messaging”. 

I completely agree with that statement.  In fact, I almost never use my iPhone as.......a phone.  

Yes, the screen is relatively small when comparing it to a computer, but I don't sit there staring at it for hours at a time like I do with a computer screen.  It's a bit here and a bit there throughout the day, and that's what I mean when I say "convergence device".  You find yourself using it for so many different things at so many times during the day that it becomes a part of the way you function.

If you're debating whether or not to get an iPhone, don't waste your time.  Just get it.  Don't wait on the iPhone 5 because you never know when it's going to come out and you'll miss enjoying the iPhone every day until then.  Just go get the iPhone 4 and start enjoying it today.

As part of this blog going forward, I've created an iPhone category on the left side and will be posting about the iPhone, great apps that I find, and other topics in the future.  In fact, I like the iPhone so much that I also purchased an iPad 2 and will be blogging about that as well.  I hope you find the articles interesting...
 

dontflushyourdrugs.net

With the steadily increasing use of pharmaceuticals over the past 10-15 years, one has to wonder what people are doing with all of their expired or unused medication. 

Back in the day, people were told to simply throw them out in the garbage.  But then everyone wised up and realized that young unknowing kids could go into the garbage pail and grab a whole bunch of medicine that could kill them, so people starting flushing their old medications down the toilet or pouring it down the sink instead.

In fact, when I first saw this link the other day I asked about ten people who I know:  "What do you do with your old medicines when you're ready to throw them out"?  Every single person who I asked said, "I flush them down the toilet".  Every one of them.  Wow!  Now you can see the magnitude of the problem we're creating here.

All of this drug-flushing got us into the mess that's detailed at this link:  dontflushyourdrugs.net

It makes complete sense that this has now contaminated our waterways and it's affecting fish and wildlife, as well as aquatic life.  It doesn't take much imagination to realize that this could also very easily affect humans (and almost certainly already does) because all of these waterways lead to watershed areas, sources of residential wells, recreation water areas, springs, etc. 

If all this junk could feminize a male fish and make it produce eggs, I don't even want to know what it could do to a human!

The web site above outlines how to properly dispose of unused pharmaceuticals.  Please take a few minutes to give it a read and follow the directions the next time you have a batch of pills to throw out. 

If everyone helped, we could cut the course of this completely human-made problem that's affecting everything around us...........including humans!

Thanks!
 

Don't forget the atmosphere photos!

A secret team photo from behind, but someone peeked...

Spring has......sprung!  And with spring comes......spring sports!

Now is the season when we run around town heading from soccer to baseball to softball, all the while snapping photos of our young ones as they learn their sports and have their fun.  But as we do this, don't forget one thing:  Take some photos of something other than the game!

Unique view of the first base action under the lights...

Like what, you ask?  Atmosphere photos...

Sports are about a lot more than the action happening out on the field.  They're about the people that come to see the game, the equipment, the weather, etc.  So many things!

Try taking some photos that tell something about what's going on at the games without showing the actual action of the game.  Or perhaps they show the action of the game framed in a unique way, like this photo taken from the dugout of the action at first base during my son's first night game ever.

Take some photos that show the teams and their spirit, the excitement, the camaraderie, the anxiety that comes from a close game, the pep talks from the coach, etc.

All of these things are part of the game, and when you think about creating a holistic memory of these times, I would argue that these types of photos are just as important as the action of the game itself.

So grab your arsenal of lenses, position yourself in unusual locations with unusual views, and create some great atmosphere photos to bring home some memories other than the hits, slides, and tags.  Don't forget to crank up the ISO to ensure hand holdable shutter speeds if you're shooting games that are occurring at night.

I've added a few more samples of what I'm talking about below.  Enjoy!

Pep talk before the big game...

First night game ever, on a field of green under shining lights...

 

Some day my daughter will say, "I remember that pink helmet Daddy"!

The emotion in the dugout near the end of the game: "Please get a hit"!

Is "Camera+" the best camera app for the iPhone? Yes!

I finally got a shiny new iPhone 4.  I love it, but I'll write about how great it is in another post.  :-)

The subject here is photography related, not phone related...

I always try to have a camera with me when I'm out and about so that I can grab serendipitous photos whenever I can.  The native Camera app in iOS on the iPhone is OK for grabbing quick photos, but it has one huge flaw.  You can't control autofocus and exposure metering independently of each other.  Meaning, on the native Camera app, whatever you focus on will determine your exposure.  That's logical for casual photography, but it's bad for more serious/creative photography.....

Most people might think that this setup is OK for casual snapshots on a camera phone, and in good light for a casual shot maybe it is most of the time.  But I saw right away that the photos come out poorly if you're trying to shoot in any kind of questionable lighting situation.  I immediately started looking for a solution.

The answer is "Camera+". Here is a link to Camera+ in the iTunes Store.  You can also read much more information about it on the Tap Tap Tap web site at this link (the creators of Camera+).

This app costs $1, and for that cost you get the problem above corrected but you also get a lot of other handy features as well. Specifically, with Camera+ you get:

1. Separate control of autofocus and exposure metering.  This is a must for creative photography!!!
    
2. A handy and responsive zoom control that's always visible.  On a side note, I would suggest avoiding zooming on the iPhone in general unless you really have to because it uses a digital zoom (not optical) and it deteriorates the photo quality.
    
3. The capability to simultaneously save photos to the Camera+ "Lightbox" (for editing) as well as the iOS Photo app.  This is handy because you can edit your photos right in Camera+ without needing to open a separate application.  The capability to save in both locations is handy because then you don't need to move photos around on your iPhone.
    
4. A grid to use to level your photos.
    
5. Useful "Photo Info" panel with an integrated map of where you took your photo based on geotagging embedded within the image.
   
   
6. A shooting self-timer.
    
7. Quality settings.
   
   
8. Innovative "Photo Flashlight" utility.
    
9. Stabilizer function that senses when your camera is still before it snaps a photo.
    
10. Photo editing effects built into the app.  Each effect has an intensity slider to control how much it affects your photo.  It's handy to have these effects in Camera+ itself instead of having to go to a separate app for editing.  There are also borders and cropping available.
     
11. Built-in social network sharing capabilities (Facebook, Flickr, Twitter).

It's easy to see from the comments above that Camera+ is far superior to the built in Camera app.  For $1, it's a total bargain!  The one drawback is that it doesn't shoot video....yet....so if you want to do that then you need to jump into the native Camera app.  But I'm sure the creators of Camera+ will add this capability to their app quickly.  Even without video, it blows away the built in Camera.  Completely blows it away.

Get this app!  You'll love it.
 

Video for perfect pushups and plank exercises

I'm not big on working out (i.e., lifting weights, core exercises, etc).  It bores me.  I prefer to get my exercise from walking on the treadmill, riding my bike, hiking, or playing basketball.  This year I'm taking up tennis and may try golf again.  These types of things are what I call "active exercise".

Doing "active exercise" has kept me in good shape over the years, but a while back I hurt my back and I had to adjust the way that I do some things.  After I was better, the back doctor told me that since I'm a tall and thin guy, I should do some core and chest/shoulder exercises to take some of the load off my back when doing normal activities.  I thought one thing:  Boring....

But today I saw the video at this link that contains time proven methods for doing pushups and planks the proper way for maximum benefit.  In addition, the video recommends minor tweaks to the form of the exercises to target specific muscle groups while still doing the same basic motions.

It's worth a few minutes to check it out to get some more well-rounded exercise into your routine.  I plan to start doing these types of exercises to add a little variety to what I'm doing and see if it helps out my back.