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February 27, 2006
Aperture Improvements Coming Soon...
MacWorld is reporting that Aperture 1.1 will be available as a free upgrade in March to Apple's first foray into professional photography tools, and none too soon if you ask me. I preordered this, hoping for a saving grace to my 30k+ image library I currently keep in iPhoto. Well, on my Dual 2.5 G5 machine, Aperture 1.0 is continuously plagued by the spinning beachball of death. It's frankly unusable. 1.1 reportedly improves on speed, adds some new RAW controls, among what are called 'dozens' of improvements - including Intel native support. I look forward to trying this one out. But for now, iLife '06's improvements to iPhoto are rocking my world - things will need to get much better to justify a switch over to Aperture.
technorati tags: mac, apple, aperture, photography, intel
Posted by jetrotz at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2006
An Update to the 20D
Canon has announced the upgrade to the EOS 20D - the 30D, of course. 
Comprehensive coverage available here at DPReview.com. After several years of life, the Canon EOS 20D will soon be replaced by this new model, the most notable new feature being a larger(2.5"), wider viewing angle LCD display. Most other aspects appear similar, although the new version does feature a more robust estimated shutter life (100k exposures). It also adds spot metering (a godsend for those Zone officiant's). It uses the same 5fps, 8.2 megapixel sensor of it's predecessor. While it's no 5D (what I really want), it does sound like it's a nice step up from my current version, the 10D. And the list price of $1399 certainly is easier to swallow than the $3k for the big-bad-full-frame-5D. There's some other good info here and here.
technorati tags: canon, EOS 30D, photography
Posted by jetrotz at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2006
Sam can clap!
Not that we’d been trying to show Sam how to do this, but after taking him to Amy's performance with the Atlanta Ballet for the children's showing of Peter and the Wolf, 
he picked up on that whole 'applause' thing. While he remained entranced with the performers from our front-row seat (we took advantage of a no-show), he loved watching the dancers and hearing not just one, but FOUR French horns. But whenever the crowd broke into applause, he just had to turn around. So yesterday, he decided to spontaneously clap first for Mom, then again when Dad came home from work. He's a genius, I tell you! Click here to watch the video (Quicktime required).
technorati tags: sam, baby, clapping, atlanta ballet
Posted by jetrotz at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2006
Kangaroos Congregate!
In a bit of a role reversal, Sam's weekly playgroup was held on a weekend so the member's dads could get in on the action. Amy was working (Peter & the Wolf at the Fox with the Atlanta Ballet), so Sam and dad went stag. It's a great group of people, and a very photogenic group of little boys and girls. Here's the gallery. Above, Henry and Sam share one of the stand-up toys. And what do kangaroos have to do with our playgroup? Well, it has nothing to do with my name. However, it has everything to do with Zoo Atlanta being here in Grant Park, so each new crop of kids joins a playgroup named for an animal at our beloved zoo - and these guys were named after the set of marsupials that arrived while Amy was pregnant.
technorati tags: baby, playgroup, grant park
Posted by jetrotz at 02:22 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2006
Add another one to the crowd!
Shane Holland and his wife Vicki are proud to announce the arrival of Max yesterday. Cute, cute, cute!
Max Aaron Holland was born at 12:45 PM Friday, February 17th, 2006. He weighs 7lbs and is 19.5 inches long. Everyone is doing fine. Ian came to visit and said, "later baby" as he was leaving.
technorati tags: baby, shane, vicki
Posted by jetrotz at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2006
Sam Movie Update
Our little guy 
has been so cute lately, talking in his own little language, laughing like a crazy guy, and just being a wonderful little boy. I shot these video clips I strung together on my Treo 650 phone, so the quality isn't great, but just hearing Sam is worth it. Follow this link to watch the video. It uses Quicktime, so have your plug-ins ready!
technorati tags: sam, video, moblog, baby
Posted by jetrotz at 05:37 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2006
CNN Enhanced on Dish is in the Wild...
TVWeek (free registration required) may have been the first to report this, under the headline 'Interactive TV Gets a Big Boost' - CNN has launched their first major one-screen interative TV application. I was the product manager on this effort, and it's great to see the trades picking up on it. If you have Dish, please check it out and let me know your thoughts. The app combines photos and stories from CNN.com you can read while the CNN linear network continues to play in squeezeback. So for those couch potatoes among us who want a little more control over your news, this one's for you! The TV Week story goes on with an interesting quote from Ian Olgeirson, an analyst with Kagan Research: "Certainly, being able to deploy the application to more than a small amount of customers is pretty critical to making the model work on any level," he said. Still, ITV is not likely to lure new customers, he said."
- TV Newser has also picked this up.
- CNNMoney.com has the PRNewswire story.
- Multichannel News and UPI also have short mentions.
- What's Happening at CNN has a slew of screenshots.
technorati tags: cnn, echostar, itv, etv, dish network
technorati tags: opentv
Posted by jetrotz at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
SI Swimsuit on Your iPod
While some may find it hard to believe, I'm quite happy to not be involved in the coding, editing and (ahem) 'quality control' of the annual SI.com Swimsuit Edition. The NYTimes picked up on this year's efforts, and goes into great detail on this much-heralded product launch tomorrow (on Valentines Day, 'natch). The annual staple has grown to not only include the magaine itself, but videos for your iPod, AIM icons, mobile phone wallpapers, and a cross-country series of parties with Anheuser-Busch (which picked up this sponsorship after Miller bowed out recently). Not to mention a few hundred very nice photos on SI.com. Get ready, get set - now go make sure all those images are cropped correctly in three different size formats, the swimsuit credits are correct, and no one left off any thumbnail images for gallery 42 of 50! Believe me - stare at those pictures long enough, and you'll grow hair where you don't want it - or perhaps get tired of supermodels. Probably NOT the latter, though.
technorati tags: si, swimsuit, ipod, video, sports illustrated
Posted by jetrotz at 02:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 10, 2006
My Four Things
As if I didn't have enough to do, I was tagged and need to post my response (more examples of the Four Things meme here).
Four jobs I've had in my life:
- Thrifty Hardware & Supply Company clerk - worked for my dad, doing fun things like working the pipe cutting machine and getting covered in the lubricating oil. I'd come home looking like I'd been in one of those Wesson-oil wrestling matches.
- Waltham Camera & Stereo counter sales - back in college, I earned extra $$ working at this high-end stereo and photo store. We'd spend hours listening to our favorite music on these $25k systems, and I was able to buy all sorts of gear at cost. Heck, I still have some of the speakers I bought back in the day.
- Photojournalist - I was a stringer for the AP during college, then a staff photographer and editor for the Savannah Morning News and The Augusta Chronicle. Amazing experiences during that time - from travelling with the U.N. to Sarajevo in '92 to photographing the antics of the ill-fated '86 Red Sox, to covering the darker side of my home town during the violent crack-gang violence in the early 90s.
- Turner Broadcasting - that would be my current job, and it's been a blast, from the annual Swimsuit Edition for SI.com to iTV projects for CNN and the rest of our brands, it's been a great experience. PS - Swimsuit 2006 launches on Valentines Day next week!
Four TV shows I love to watch:
- 24
- Survivor (yeah, I know)
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Family Guy
- Isla Mujeres, Mexico - wonderful small island off Cancun - peaceful and beautiful
- Haifa, Israel - rather like Carmel, California. Went before the Intafada, when the only worries were rockets coming in from Lebanon
- Volcano Village, Hawaii - among the many places we went on our honeymoon, by far the most magical
- Highlands, NC - a great escape from Atlanta - wonderful hiking, amazing food and wine, and good geocaching!
- Toro!
- Osso Bucco
- Lobster, pretty much any way you serve it
- Berries
Four places I would rather be right now:
- The aforementioned Big Island of Hawaii
- At home, with my wife and son
- Savannah, GA (my hometown)
- Boston (my adoptive hometown)
technorati tags: four things, meme, tagged
Posted by jetrotz at 06:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack