This afternoon I was out taking pictures with three cameras that are next in line for review. I arrived at an overpass above San Jose Ave. What did I notice in the sky, but five airplanes writing something in the sky. The problem was, by the time I figured out what they were writing -- [some web address]: Go Configure -- I couldn't read what the URL was. Maybe someone else who saw it knows. The whole thing seemed like big waste of money to me.
I went out to Brentwood to check on my future home. As it turns out, it's still just dirt. But very wet dirt. Read the June 28th house update for all the details.
Below is the same house as mine, but at the other end of the block.
So naturally I was very excited to be away from the truck, so I was speeding along, still on Vasco Rd. What did I notice approaching me? Another CHP cruiser! I hit the brakes to get closer to the 55mph speed limit (I was probably doing 75) and I had a scary moment as the cop turned on his lights... I thought for sure he was going to turn around and get me. But he turned them off and kept going. I guess that was my one warning.
My dad (who was already at my house) and I headed down to the Colma BART station. We boarded the SFO-bound train and off we went.
The trains were packed
After a uneventful ride, we arrived at the new airport station. We didn't get out along the way to see the other two stations (which I affectionately call "Costco" and "Target"), since we'd just end up waiting 20 mins for the next train.
The SFO station itself wasn't really impressive... it sure was crowded though. I went on a mission to find the free posters they were giving out, while other people were after the free drinks. Seeing how we had never been on the AirTrain system, we took a ride around the airport on it. It was a lot more exciting than the BART ride itself.
After a quick loop around the International terminal, it was time to take BART over to the monstrosity known as the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station. This involved waiting 20 minutes for a 3 minute ride over there.
This is probably the most interesting station, but we didn't stick around for long. We went downstairs and found seats (!) on a train bound for SF... and off we went back to Colma. The whole trip wasn't nearly as exciting as I was hoping for (too many people!) and I don't know how anyone will navigate suitcases through that mess, but heck, I had nothing better to do!
Macworld has posted the online version of my July 2003 digital camera column. This was the biggest column I've written thus far, covering 10 cameras. I like to think that I've really helped improve Macworld's coverage of digicams.
The disk swap portion of my server upgrade managed to lose all three of my WebCrossing (message board) databases, plus my camera database. Thank God for backups.
The question is... why is it that these servers can run for months without a problem, but as soon as you turn them off for 5 minutes, they croak?
These Bud Light radio commercials just crack me up. I had no idea that there were so many... shows you how often I listen to the radio.
Okay, back to fixing my screwed up new web server.
As the editor of a pretty large site, I get a lot of e-mail. After you knock out the spam, which accounts for probably 75% of my e-mail, you're left with a few things. First there are the folks, who despite my repeated requests, are asking for camera recommendations. Then there are people with technical questions, which I am usually happy to respond to, if I know the answer. The leftovers include thank you notes, questions about what camera I use, and when I'm going to review [insert camera name].
But every once in a while I get a really bizarre message. It's not the content that's bizarre, but the delivery. Someone will e-mail me a question or comment in their native language. Most recently, I got an e-mail and attached Powerpoint file from a guy in Sweden. I have no idea what he was trying to tell me, and I don't know of any Swedish-English online translators out there.
So my question is... what motivates people to send a message like that? I don't think I've ever mentioned that I speak Swedish, German, and Portuguese?
