zazu

am I here?

I've wanted a Lensbaby ever since I saw this gallery. That was a pretty big departure from my previous taste in photography which was mainly very sharp, very saturated macro-like photos. I'm not really sure what guides my current tastes because they don't really phase gradually in and out, I just wake up one day and decide I like something entirely different.

So, it's been nearly a year and I've finally acquired a (third-hand) Lensbaby 2.0. I've also decided I'm currently more into b&w than color. This being only the second time I've used the lens, I'm still learning but these are the results of yesterday's session.

I don't really know what affects my current taste in photography. I spend a decent amount of time looking at photos but it's mainly limited to the work on one website and I don't generally study the works of the masters or anything. I don't even seem to gradually phase in and out of things...I just up and one day decide I like something new. The first of my more recent revelations was that I suddenly really, really enjoy black & white photography and have decided to work mainly in that (and derivatives) for the time being. I've been mostly a well-saturated, full color person up until now.

The second

1. Not new, per se, but new to me, I've finally managed to get Tivo Desktop working properly which means I can now transfer shows onto the computer or photos/music onto the tv. I suspect this will never come in handy but at least it's working.

2. Amazon's Unbox is now working in conjunction with Tivo. If you register your Tivo by April 30th, you get $15 in credits. Then you can purchase or rent videos and tv shows and they will magically appear on your Tivo. If you're renting, you have 30 days to watch your rental but must complete viewing within 24 hours of when you begin it. Purchases stay on the Tivo until you delete them but stay forever in your Amazon library. At $4 a pop, the rentals are a little pricey so I probably won't use this much either but it's nice to know that if I'm snowed in for eternity or my legs fall off, I can still rent movies.

3. Netflix has a new instant watching feature which allows you to watch movies online. You can watch as many hours of movies as dollars you pay each month (ie. if you're on the $15 plan, you can watch 15 hours of movie). In general, I don't like to watch movies on the laptop because, well, it's not as cool as the tv and also because I frequently do stuff on the laptop while watching tv but I've tested the feature twice (first on Somersault* which was very good but maybe not everyone's bag, second on Dandelion which wasn't quite as good but wasn't bad either) and it's not too shabby. They don't have nearly the selection that they do for actual DVDs, I don't know if they're testing the market or what. And it only works in IE but I suspect I'll end up using this more than I expect.

Now, when Netflix and Tivo partner up and I can automatically download Netflix stuff to the Tivo, all will be right with the world.

*The soundtrack to Somersault is done by an Australian band called Decoder Ring and is my new favorite. 

The neat thing about massive snowstorms is that they are essentially a license to stay home all weekend. The downside is suddenly remembering all the things you want to go out and do, having to subsist on tortillas and peanut butter, Tivo not having the foresight to

properly stock up and feeling like maybe the time would be better spent tackling the dump of a house and various other projects rather than sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and catching up on photography magazines.

All of the down sides are trumped by having yakety roommate move out and knowing that my luxurious weekend at home will not be spent having my

face talked off.

Now then, I have a confession. This commercial makes me laugh (as opposed to the rest of the Truth commercials which annoy me to the point that I actually want to take up smoking). I don't know why and I'm sure it has something to do with what a horrible person I really am but if you can't tell your dear diary, who can you tell?

So, a quick search within Vox revealed that I am not crazy and that other folks were having the same Firefox problems. Apparently it's an issue with adblock so in order to post or comment on Vox, I have to have Adblock disabled (or whitelist Vox) so that I may see blinking, flashing ads while I do my bidniss. I'm really not a fan.

In other news...SNOW DAY!

I can't use Vox in Firefox anymore. Whyyyy? I can read but I can't comment or update. This is cause for divorce.

Psychology Today wrote an article about my people.