christmasgorilla - { chris muscarella }

Howlin’ Wolf - I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:51:57 -0500

Howlin’ Wolf - I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)

Changing the Autofocus Button on Canon Digital SLRs

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:10:00 -0500

A while ago, I noticed that my friend Jonathan seemed to have a special setup on his Canon 5d—he wasn’t using the shutter button to auto-focus his subjects. He had decoupled the auto-focus from the shutter button and instead used a button on the back of the camera. I tried it; I loved it.

What’s the point of doing this? It allows you to keep shooting regardless of what’s going on with the focus motor. I find that it’s really helpful if you’re shooting with a reasonable depth of field and the subjects are moving around a lot (parties, street photography, people in general). It’s a much faster manual workflow and it takes only a short period of shooting before it feels very natural.

To configure this is easy, but I don’t recommend your camera manual—it’s very obtuse language. Instead, check out: Canon Digital Learning Center - Back-Button Auto Focus Explained. On a 5d Mark II, my FN IV Custom Functions (Operations / Others) have the following settings: #1 is set to 3 and #2 is set to 1.

Happy shooting.

Etta James - All I Could Do Was Cry

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:57:04 -0500

Etta James - All I Could Do Was Cry

Trying to divine the mysteries of Excel spreadsheets.

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:04:42 -0500

Trying to divine the mysteries of Excel spreadsheets.

Sigur Ros vs. Mobb Deep - Shook (Emancipator Mash)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:40:06 -0500

Sigur Ros vs. Mobb Deep - Shook (Emancipator Mash)

Barbara - Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi) Is that a sample of...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:31:55 -0500

Barbara - Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi)

Is that a sample of the Trapeze Swinger from this trio from LA?

Sometimes, you wonder if you’re getting funny glimpses of...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:41:00 -0500

Sometimes, you wonder if you’re getting funny glimpses of coming changes in technology. In this case: I wonder if Apple is really pushing for a convergence of messaging.

SMS is one of the most profitable parts of the telecom carriers’ business—it’s the closest thing that there is to a form of universal push messaging, but they’re so greedy that they’re hesitant to open up SMS messaging in ways that would allow more innovation. So it looks as if software people are starting to end run around them—between Blackberry supporting their own messaging system (which, I hear, is a lifesaver for international long-distance relationships), Twitter direct messages for the webheads, and now Apple supporting a special iPhone type in Contact profiles and always showing the choice to short message an email address. I wonder if Apple is planning to take their App notification structure and have their own messaging layer?

Convergence of telecom and web services is happening in a lot of places beyond the client software. From Jamie Siminoff’s coming GRID service which will mix voice and SMS messaging on the same ten digit phone numbers, to Twilio’s beta of a similar offering, to Clickatell which offers that service everywhere but the US, to Google Voice, to Ribbit, to my old company—Mobile Commons.

John Prine - Lake Marie This was recorded live at Austin City...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:59:27 -0500

John Prine - Lake Marie

This was recorded live at Austin City Limits; it’s an amazing feat of storytelling as well as a song.

GPOYW: Pilar, New Mexico PS. This is worth seeing in high-res....

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:07:00 -0500

GPOYW: Pilar, New Mexico

PS. This is worth seeing in high-res. And there’s nothing beneath my feet.

"I’m the Forrest Gump of the Internet."

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:16:48 -0500

“I’m the Forrest Gump of the Internet.”

- Craig Newmark

Old Crowe Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel I was born to be a...

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:23:26 -0500

Old Crowe Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel

I was born to be a fiddler in an old time string band.

via meaghano a long time ago.

Willie Nelson - Señor (w Calexico) Apparently the desert...

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:22:00 -0500

Willie Nelson - Señor (w Calexico)

Apparently the desert isn’t out of my bones yet.

Apparently, this is the face I make when experiencing vertigo...

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:38:00 -0500

Apparently, this is the face I make when experiencing vertigo for the first time. When you look into a void that challenges your perception—even if surrounded by dear friends—sometimes all you can do is bite your lip, carry on, and try not to fall forward.

photo credit: jonathan harris

Sunset Cliffs — San Diego, CA

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:28:36 -0500

Sunset Cliffs — San Diego, CA

Adventuring in the secret places of New Mexico with my friends...

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:37:17 -0500

Adventuring in the secret places of New Mexico with my friends Jonathan, Alanna, and Carolyn.

photo credit: jonathan harris

Biggie & Miley Cyrus - Party & Bullshit in the USA Song...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:24:21 -0500

Biggie & Miley Cyrus - Party & Bullshit in the USA

Song of the weekend cruising the SoCal coast.

The right kind of working weekend in San Diego with Shoe and...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:09:01 -0500

The right kind of working weekend in San Diego with Shoe and Phlip.

"Is it possible to embrace complexity in a political and media culture that demands simple themes and..."

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:55:00 -0500

“Is it possible to embrace complexity in a political and media culture that demands simple themes and promotes conflict?

The president, whose hallmark has been ideological eclecticism, would clearly like to think the answer is yes. But a year into his presidency, Mr. Obama has lost control of his political narrative, his ability to define the story of his presidency on his own terms. And the main reason is that his story is no longer so simple or easy to tell.

That is no small thing. Since George Washington, presidents have cultivated thematic definitions of themselves to shape the way their choices are perceived. A strong, clear narrative helps a president connect with voters and explain the journey he is leading. The lack of one invites opponents to craft a less flattering portrayal.

As he tries to absorb the lessons of his first 12 months in office and push ahead with his agenda in an election year that holds great peril for his party, Mr. Obama faces a narrative vacuum.”

- The Muddled Selling of the President - NYTimes.com (via slavin)

My cousin, Elias, the pirate. He also builds castles.

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:47:42 -0500

My cousin, Elias, the pirate. He also builds castles.

Found this morning in a box in the closet: some old...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:59:48 -0500

Found this morning in a box in the closet: some old comrades—Captains of Crush grippers (T, 1, 2) and a favorite collection of essays.

If you’ve ever wanted a real gripper, you owe it to yourself to pick up a Captain of Crush from Iron Mind—they start around 100lbs of closing pressure. Most that you find in casual sports stores don’t measure up to 25 lbs of pressure. And if you want a multi-year challenge, aim to be one of the beasts that can close a #3.