Monthly Archives: September 2010

Florida trip

I went to South Florida again to visit the family, the beach, and some Cuban restaurants. This time I tried out the Prius as a rental car. It was okay car to drive.

While I stayed at my Aunt Jill’s house, I was able to visit with my other Aunt, Beth. Here I am with both of my Aunties.

I also saw some of my friends who still live here: Sean Conner and Bunny.

And another Sean. Williams, that is. It was good to see them again. If only briefly…

We went to the Sundy House in Delray Beach for brunch. I’ve never been there before and it was nice. The location is pretty. There is an indoor garden, well more of a tropical forest. We also had fun taking pictures. I wish I had more spontaneous pictures like these… The first is my mom and I and the second is my cousin Heather and her mother, Jill.

Here is a video of the Lake Worth beach (here).

And a video of the Boynton Beach Inlet.

links

The world’s largest amateur rocket link via

“I Am Immune” Short Product Piece link via

Tallscreen video link via

800 hours training to become a train driver link via

The Fun Way of Scientifically Slicing a Pizza link via

Split Testing with a Genetic Algorithm link via

Why DRM Doesn’t Work link via

Pop band OK times Rube Goldberg Machine to music link via

Down for the Count link via

Photochimping link via

Analemma with an eclipse link via

Tatev Monastery link1 link2 via

Rubiks Cube Poster Illusion link via

Monster Truck Backflip link via

BMW S 1000 RR pulls off the old tablecloth trick link via

2011 Koenigsegg Agera Supercar link via

How the cure for Scurvey was found and then lost link via

Lava lamp in a homemade centrifuge link via

Giant Redwood panorama link via

Anticrepuscular rays link via

Strobeshnik clock link1 link2 via

Tokyo’s rail network grows like slime mold link via

Casttoo link via

Lost 365 link via

The making of the Terminator’s laser-sighted .45 pistol link via

Pretty car link via

Adam Savage: my Blade Runner gun link via

The kite makers link via

Hand cut maps link1 link2 via

Maps as a metaphore link via

Do not trust profile pictures link via

DYI Garage Biotech link via

Cows are equivalent to the atomic bomb link via

Carnivorous Toilet Plant link via

Chocolate Easter Bunny versus heat link via

Stormtroopers having a good time link via

Paris in 26 gigapixels link via

Alkali metals reacting to air and water link via

A day in the life of a programmer link via

One minute bread link via

Sous-vide steak primer link via

Using flute technology to control downforce in race cars link via

Impressive Chinese architecture link via

Chat Roulette Piano link via

Using a Bonsai tree as an instrument link via

Baby’s first internet link via

The Jarvie Window link via

Stretchy ice cream link via

Matching fonts with dogs link via

Cats just don’t care link via

Don’t worry. He’s my brother. link via

Rock Paper Scissors Playing Glove link via

Business Card / Transistor Amplification link via

The Newspaper Club Produces–and Prints–a Newspaper at SXSW link via

6 Ways We’re Already Geoengineering Earth link via

Alien vs. Pooh link via

Clothspin dominoes link via

Living in internet cafes link via

Last Supper was supersized link via

Periodic Table of Periodic Tables link via

Family of 5 bikes across America link via

Making Kombucha link via

Shoes that make everyone the same height link via

Reflections of a Shuttle launch link via

Dung Beetles inspire low-light video enhancements link via

A home built Turing machine link via

People painted to look like acrylic paintings link via

The front fell off… link via

The A-Z of awesomeness link via

Cooking Some Bacon – The Machine Gun Method link via

Marwencol link via

Aerial video with a Canon 7D link via

Dr. Horrible in 8-bit link via

Japanese gut bacteria gain special powers from sushi link via

Lighting it up in Austin with Robert Seale link via

Paper fried egg link via

The cat with hands link via

Turnip Rock, Port Austin, Michigan link via

Vexel illustrations link via

Lost Camera link via

Why the so called “Blockbuster” look? link via

Why Cilantro tastes like soap link via

Planet Paris link via

Building a StarCraft bot that plays like a pro link via

Light painting Hennessey link via

What really happens after you rescue the princess link via

Board James: DragonStrike link via

Zip files all the way down link via

Cross panel comics link via

A history of the sky link via

Apple pie link via

May is the official Zombie Awareness Month of the Zombie Research Society link via

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars story ever told link via

Color survey results link via

Celebrity Phone Book carvings link via

Tactical Nuclear Penguin link via

DIY DSLR Wooden Shoulder Rig link via

Tiny brass canon link via

Vintage Lomo Lenses Attached To Canon 5D Mark II link via

Primavera link via

Making Of Primavera link via

How They Filmed the Star Wars Opening Crawl… link via

If The Empure Strikes Back was filmed in 1950 link via

The Night Project link via

Youth From Vienna (shot using the 7D) link via

Ten maps that changed the world link via

Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan link via

Making Of: Luxembourg Air Rescue Promo Film link via

Motherboard city link via

Mic comparison worth a listen by digital SLR video shooters link via

The Making of The Carnival Sequence from “The Last 3 Minutes” link via

LucasArts Posters link via

Lego printer link via

The Starry Night Pie Packed link via

Bronze Katamari sculpture link via

Edible Crayons link via

Porn has never touched this machine link via

Tree cloud link via

Why I Sold Zappos link via

HDSLR Remote Head link via

Lego on Hoth link via

DIY DSLR Cage / Stabilizer / Fig Rig link via

Making French Fries link1 link2 link3

Tree Lungs link via

Travel Posters link via

Water Figures link via

Phonetikana link via

Chiquita Banana Brand Refresh link via

Great moments in sport link1 link2 link3 link4 link5 via

Pizzicletta link via

8-bit illustrations link via

Extreme Sheep LED Art link via

Four Austin companies serve quick, healthy meals link via

Smile link via

Filming Race Across America link via

Viewfactor Powered Cage For Canon 7D link via

Conan the Barbarian: The Musical link via

Conan’s Witnesses link via

Complex Origami link via

TEDxOilSpill Expedition link via

CMYK Alphabet link via

The Axis of Food link via

Refraction link via

A Very Scary Light Show: Exploding H-Bombs In Space link via

TEDxOilSpill Poster Competition Winners link via

Cracking the egg link via

Camera survives ocean trip to Florida link via

WWII has plot holes link via

How the Old Spice Videos Are Being Made link via

Honda Pegasus link via

From grubs to kimono link via

Album cover redesigns link via

photo sequence of 42 stacked shots, caught in Olympic Stadium, Athens during a severe thunderstorm link via

Red Eye link via

Come Rain or Come Shine link via

Canon 7D vs. Barbie Video Girl link via

How to Make a Clay Tablet Magazine link via

Stone House link via

That Looks Good Enough to Eat link via

102 year old lens on a 5DmkII link via

Light painting link via

How to make great Neapolitan pizza at home link via

New state landmarks link via

Pineapple agua fresca

Given how easy it is to make my lemon-lime aid, I thought I would see if I could replicate another favorite drink of mine: the agua fresca at La Selva Mexican Ice Cream store.

I took some pineapple chunks and blended it in water until smooth. The result was really thick and cloudy. Not at all smooth and clear. Straining it off helped out a little. But I think that I need a gravy strainer for this. Or maybe a siphon.

I also made some caramelized simple syrup to sweeten it with. I really have to come up with an easier way to make this. Basically, you take a cup of sugar and put it in a pan. Dry. And heat it up until it turns light brown. Take it off the heat and pour in a cup of water. The problem is that the browned sugar is 340 degrees and solidifies when the water is poured in. You have to mix it around until the candy sugar melts. Which takes a long time and a lot of work. I think it would be easier to just use dark brown sugar in a cup of water and boil it a little bit to break down the sugar.

I do like the effect that the two speedlites had on the picture. It really darkened down the foreground and background.

Texas sized cicadas

It was really hard to take this photo. It was too dark for the automatic focusing to work. So I had to shine a flashlight in one hand to help with focusing. Then the mosquitoes were eating me alive. I gave up after the tenth bite.

I also tried recording the buzzing of the cicadas. I think I need a wind sock on the audio recorder. Because, while it didn’t seem windy when I was standing out there, there were definite wind spikes.

Tropical Storm Hermine

I missed an opportunity to take some pictures of flash flooding. According to KVUE, Georgetown received 14.57 inches over two days! Sadly, the weatherman talked about how this was a 500 year rain event, but then did not blog about it.

The changing light of sunset

When I just happened to glance outside, I noticed an unusual and strong color tint. So I immediately jumped out of my chair and ran to my camera. By that time, the color started to fade. It is amazing how ephemeral these occurrences are.

I also tried taking a picture after grabbing a color-neutral filter and taking a white-balance setting frame. But the result was rather bland after the light skew was subtracted from the picture..

Deep In The Heart Of Texas, again

The first time I tried to take a panorama of this, I hand-held the camera and just winged it by trying to keep the same point of rotation. This time, I used a panoramic tripod. But there is still problems with the low angle of view. I think I need to get it about twenty feet into the air for a better viewpoint.

Later, when I was processing this panorama, I noticed the following tag. Sigh. People make me sad sometimes.

Austin Skyline

I took a High Definition Range panorama of the Austin Skyline today at Disch Field. And learned some things. I set aperture priority. Which was a mistake. The exposure settings changed slightly on every picture. Which caused color problems. Fortunately, Photoshop was up to the task of correcting the pictures to a common white balance.

It also took a while to wait while people left the individual frames of pictures.

Mark Hamzy's weblog

about boardgaming, discgolf, and pictures