Appreciating the Summer of 2016 before it is gone
Posted By RichC on August 23, 2016
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Keeping an eye on tropical disturbances
Posted By RichC on August 22, 2016
How much more government can small business take?
Posted By RichC on August 22, 2016
I wish politicians would listen to managers and owners of small businesses. In a Maria Bartiromo interview with Metro Applebee’s CEO Zane Tankel, his frustration at the challenges being force down the throats of business in the U.S. is apparent (about 2 min into the interview). It is understandable why starting a business and hiring employees is so risky and has become even more difficult this past decade and in the advent of Obamacare.
It was challenging enough doing it back in the 1980 and 90s and I’m thankfully not to be starting a new business today. For the sake of our country, we really need to make owning and running companies easier in order to encourage job creations, entrepreneurship and expand our countries tax base (not to mention getting citizens off of government entitlements).
Generator woes, beating the rain and EAA Chapter 284’s TDFI
Posted By RichC on August 21, 2016
As John “Hannibal” Smith (the late George Peppard) from the A-Team would say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
As was the case when I had acres of grass to to mow into a rain filled weekend schedule — it is great when “plans come together.” I was able to squeak in and finish the front lawn on Friday night before a downpour and had the morning and early afternoon on Saturday to do the rear acres, around the pool and trimming before the rains came again.
The timing ended up being perfect as I finished just as the rain came and that still gave me time to take apart the back-up generator was overheated and not putting out appropriate power. I was hoping to be able to salvage and rebuilt the windings above in our 20 year old Generac, but it is not supported because one division no longer supports or owners the “Generac Portable Products, LLC” division. Hm … I did find the part (maybe) but it is priced nearly the same a new generator!
Digital photography: Shooting in RAW, TIFF or JPG?
Posted By RichC on August 20, 2016
An aside … I spent my formative years engrossed in photography, back before it was digital and when "souping" film in a darkroom. Nowadays 90% of what I take is on a smartphone due to the simplicity and recent improvements in quality. Still, the best photographic images come from a quality lens and large sensor in the hands of a photographer who knows how to marry creativity and composition to the science of capturing light digitally. Part of that science is how to "save" the image after taking a photo … so here’s little advice from a professional in Melbourne Australia and shared on Mel365.com.
Photo from our Western Mediterranean cruise in 2009
The question: How do you know when to use RAW, TIFF or JPG if you are taking more than smartphone pics?
Here’s how to get better photos out of your expensive DSLR and editing setup.
Levels of brightness
JPG is a 8-bit file which stores up to 256 levels of brightness. RAW is a 12-bit file, which stores up to 4096 levels of intensity. These are typically the two formats you are offered to save on a camera. What a difference!! In case you do some post processing, like HDR, raw format is the way to go, no question about.Otherwise, just use JPG, easier. But remember once you have saved in JPG, you lost over 3800 levels of intensity that you could use in future, maybe in two years time, when you decide to start doing some post-processing, even things as easy as White Balance. As a long term solution I always suggest to go for RAW.
File compression
The JPG file is stored in compressed format and you will loose information. Just think about the over 3800 levels of intensity lost as a start, than lots of details, and …… The positive side is that your file may be a fifth in size compared to RAW.So, if you have a small memory card or you are travelling and you don’t have too much memory left, than switch to JPG. My suggestion is just to upgrade to a bigger memory, nowadays it is so cheap, compared with the information you loose when shooting JPG.
Photo printing
Photos are made to be printed. Of course not all of them, only the nicest ones. Each end of the year organize a book with all the photos that you like, as in the old days when you were printing the photos once back from a holiday. Here is another fact, the printing industry works mostly on 8 bits.Blurb, one of the best for printing books, uses either JPG or PNG, both 8-bits. So, again, if you shot and print, no post-processing, you may just be happy to use only the JPG format. Does printing at 16-bits make a difference? If you can find a place that prints 16-bits, give a try, and let me know what you think.
Your camera rules when shooting in JPG
When shooting we all pay most of our time, rightly enough, to the composition. There are however other technical decision to take as White Balance, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness etc. If shooting in RAW you may be able to change them later in post production, if not happy with them.Unfortunately when shooting in JPG you have a limited range of maneuverability. However you cannot make miracles, if the photo is either not in focus or not sharp, there is just no way to improve it. Read The importance of focusing: how to have it right and 6 suggestions for a sharp landscape photo for an in-depth analysis.
Displaying RAW files
You cannot view RAW files straight on your computer. You need to install a driver for that. However if you use Lightroom, Adobe Bridge or Photoshop, they all include the driver by default, usually.If the camera is a new model, you may have to download the driver from the camera maker.
The annoying thing, in case you have a brand new camera, is that you may have to upgrade most of your software, therefore budget always some spare money for that.
Another way to go is to install the free DNG Converter from Adobe. This is a lossless raw image format which is recognized by any Adobe product.
The TIFF format
Here it is a new format, to make things even more confused, TIFF. This format is available as 8-bit or 16-bit. Once you have the RAW file and you want to process it, than the most natural thing is to convert it to TIFF 16-bit.It will be a bigger container than needed, but no other solutions (12-bit TIFF does not exit!!). You can save it as TIFF 8-bits but you will loose some info of course. However, TIFF does a lossless compression, as opposite to JPG.
RAW files and Adobe Lightroom
The most famous software for photo archiving is probably Adobe Lightroom. This package includes also some post-production functionalities which, in full honesty, cover the needs of most amateur photographers.The feature I love of this software is that it does not save my RAW files in any other format when I start working on the photos, it just saves the changes I do on the photo.
I this way I do not have any duplicated images. This is especially important nowadays with cameras shooting up to 50M saving on new Hard Disks purchase.
Who are these Minion characters?
Posted By RichC on August 19, 2016
I really don’t know who these Minion characters are, but admire the phenomenon and their “cuteness.” Frankly I’ve haven’t actually seen the movie … or is it movies plural by now? Anyway, seeing them creatively showing up on a corner at our local Delhi Garden Center puts me in a good mood — and that is worth something!
Again, $TWTR is great for traders, not so much for investors
Posted By RichC on August 18, 2016
If I were a bit more savvy and listened to my own advice, I would have traded Twitter ($TWTR) for a few dollars this week. On a downgrade to a SELL by Evercore ISI analyst Ken Sena, shareholders listened and poured their sell orders onto the exchanges after seeing shares climb the last few days on speculation and rumors.
Snapchat is poised to take more marketshare, Evercore ISI analyst said.
Shares of Twitter Inc. slumped 4.2% in midday trade Thursday, after the stock was downgraded to a rare sell rating from hold at Evercore ISI.
Evercore analyst Ken Sena said he turned bearish on the stock as the company appears to be adding broadcasting capabilities as a method of turning around the company. Sena says other social companies are already using broadcasting and other innovations more successfully and drawing in existing (TWTR) users and advertisers. Only 29 of the 665 companies covered by Evercore ISI analysts, or 4.4%, have sell ratings.
"We see more risk than reward, particularly ahead of Snapchat’s anticipated monetization ramp this fall," Sena wrote in a research note.
Twitter recently announced a deal to live stream National Football League games on the platform and has been rumored to be in talks with Apple Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-shares-soar-after-report-of-apple-tv-talks-2016-08-15).(AAPL) to put a Twitter app on Apple TV. The company has also added Moments, which curates tweets and videos around a topic, and nonlinear timelines.
Sena said he believes innovations fall behind efforts from companies such as Snapchat, which has made changes to its chat function and Discover section, for publisher content.
He was "dismayed" with the company’s revenue forecast for the third quarter, which suggests midpoint growth of about 5%.
As Twitter’s user growth falls behind that of social networks, the analysts say the pricing of its advertisements remains too high.
(https://w.graphiq.com/w/iRgXdkzAhY9)
Twitter shares have had a bumpy year, but they gained 17% over the past month, and have soared 37% over the past three months. The S&P 500 has gained 0.4% month-to-date and 7% in the past three months.
Sena attributes the recent gains to rumors that the company could get acquired by a larger company. But with the recent gains, he said the shares were trading "at or above" what Microsoft paid for LinkedIn, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-buys-linkedin-for-262-billion-2016-06-13) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-buys-linkedin-for-262-billion-2016-06-13) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-buys-linkedin-for-262-billion-2016-06-13) despite have revenue that is less recurring.
-Caitlin Huston; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
Floating cities could be a reality by 2020
Posted By RichC on August 18, 2016
Interesting concept — “Each floating city would be made up of 10 to 15 platforms that can house 20 people each, allowing for a total of 200 to 300 people.”
Goodbye land, hello sea!
My eyes are open for an Approved Packard Service sign
Posted By RichC on August 17, 2016
A friend of mine, an automotive journalist, snapped this photo on his way across the country on Route 66 last week and 
I couldn’t help but crop and copy it for my blog – (above – thanks Wayne, not that you know I’m using your photo). Although my garage shop is not quite ready for an Approved Packard Service center sign, I do like it.
I have a few projects on the list before getting my dad’s 1958 Packard Hawk on the road again, so maybe I need a sign to instill a little more confidence? (it is now my car, but I’ll always think of it as my dad’s car — as I should).
The complex but impressive 3 compressor Audi TDI diesel
Posted By RichC on August 16, 2016
Audi’s 2017 SQ7 diesel TDI takes a new spin on hybrid vehicles by incorporating an electric compressor in addition to the already impressive 2 compressors (turbochargers). I’m not sure at what point technology goes too far in adding complexity but improving performance, but this is one impressive TDI! (link and video illustration below)
https://youtu.be/ALOV0Tcl-4k
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.