Schmap which creates online tourist guides for cities around the world is using this the photo below on the Beacon Hill section of their Boston guide:
See schmap.com for the guide.
Fireworks on the 4th!
Some pics I took here of the Boston 4th of July Fireworks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timony/tags/fireworks/
Of course it was fecking raining the whole time I was there. I thought they started at 9.30pm and got to the middle of Mass Ave bridge at the 200 smoot mark at 9.15. They didn’t start till 10.30pm …
Camera!
Finally made a decison and settled on the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 and ordered it from NewEgg.com. Went with the Silver Model as it is $30 cheaper than the Black Model. Other cameras I’d consider were the Canon G7 and the Ricoh R6. The Canon beside various auto-modes also allows almost complete manual control, but is almost $200 more. The Ricoh R6 is comparable to the Panasonic, but is only available from one vendor in North America (it’s widely available in Europe & Japan), and is about $70 more than the Panasonic.
A review of the Panasonic DMC-TZ3:
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_tz3-review/
And a comparison with the Canon G7 that I had also considered: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=22633538
The Canon G7 is $500 vs ~$300 for the TZ3. Looks like the Panasonic takes comparable pictures, whereas the Canon allows one to use more, much more manual settings, looks really cool, is a bit bigger …
Xorg stopped working …
Updated my Debian system last night and this moring Xorg wouldn’t work. In /var/log/Xorg.0.log at the end of the file is this:
(II) LoadModule: “nvidia”
(WW) Warning, couldn’t open module nvidia
(II) UnloadModule: “nvidia”
(EE) Failed to load module “nvidia” (module does not exist, 0)
(II) LoadModule: “keyboard”
(II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input//keyboard_drv.so
(II) Module keyboard: vendor=”X.Org Foundation”
compiled for 7.1.1, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.6
(II) LoadModule: “mouse”
(II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input//mouse_drv.so
(II) Module mouse: vendor=”X.Org Foundation”
compiled for 7.1.1, module version = 1.1.1
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.6
(EE) No drivers available.Fatal server error:
no screens found
Looks like /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.so is missing.
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=420177
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=428580
To create the .so file do the following (as root or using sudo):
cd /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers
gcc -shared -o nvidia_drv.so nvidia_drv.o
Process or Product?
Sounds familar! http://www.bugbash.net/comic/107.html
MacBook & Linux
Tips form Red Hat on dual-booting a MacBook with OSX & RHEL:
Thunder!
11:58pm, 1st thunderstorm of the summer!
Cameras!
Time for new camera. My Canon s200 takes great pictures, but I think it’s starting to show its age. I finally settled on a Panasonic TZ1, for it’s 10x zoom, and because Newegg had it for $189 with a 1GB SD-card.
Panasonic TZ1 Reviews:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/TZ1/TZ1A.HTM
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_tz1-review/index.shtml
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonictz1/
By the time I was ready to order they had sold out of it at that price, and due to other issues with the camera I don’t think it’s worth over $200. I’d decided on the TZ1 mainly because of it’s 10X zoom, Image Stabilisation, and low price at Newegg. In low light the TZ1 seems to produce poorer pictures (than the Canon’s listed below) and it only has a LCD screen and no viewfinder. So, as a sub-$200 compact-camera it would be a great deal, but for over $200 I think there are better cameras to consider with more MP’s (Mega-Pixels) and better ability in low-light.
I’ve been looking at the following 3 Canon cameras.
First up the Canon A710:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A710/A710A.HTM
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a710-review/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona710is/
Most of the reviews give it a thumbs up, and comparable quality pics to the more expensive Canon G7 (see below). But, I don’t like the fact it uses AA batteries, which means having to buy rechargeable batteries & charger and hauling those around. I prefer having a camera that comes with a rechargeable battery and charger, which usually ends up as a less bulky solution. It’s 10 Megapixels, and has a 6x Optical zoom.
Price is about $250.
Next the Canon S3:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/S3IS/S3ISA7.HTM
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/index.shtml
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is.html
It’s a 6 Megapixels whereas the A710 and G7 are 10 Megapixels. It takes great pics, and has a 12X optical zoom! But, it takes AA batteries and is bigger than the other 2 Canons.
Price about $300.
Canon G7:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/G7/G7A7.HTM
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_g7-review/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong7/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/g7.html
Great, great camera, also looks great in a sorta of retro-way. It’s more compact than the other 2 Canons. But, it’s about $450 and has many complaints from users of previous Canon G Camera users for being crippled compared to previous G models.
Here are the 3 Canon cameras listed feature wise side-by-side.
I just discovered the Panasonic DMC-LZ7K, 7.1 MP, 6x optical Zoom:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16830180092
Less than $200 at newegg, with a 1GB SD card. But, it takes AA batteries …
Map of Ireland
The cousin has a nice map of Ireland up on the wall of his kitchen!
Sunset
Amazing Sunset the other day, I phone-cam doesn’t do it justice:
