The Starship Zend-erprise

Hello

Thank you again for submitting a proposal for speaking at the Zend/PHP Conference in October. We have had an overwhelming response to our Call for Papers and, as a result, have had a difficult time in deciding which proposals to accept. After examining your proposal carefully, I am writing to inform you that it was not accepted in the first review cycle. However, we are placing it on a waiting list for further consideration.

…

Most importantly, thank you for your patience as we investigate expanding the Conference schedule and thank you very much for submitting a proposal to speak at the Conference.

Ahh, the standard rejection letter! But how I got it is anything but standard and that’s what I want to muse about in this article.Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 10

Three new dSLRs and “camera feel”

David Pogue writes an article about three new dSLRs that I’ve been talking around in this blog.

They are:

I love the article because there is little bias and he explains the differences in terms most people can understand. (I delve into the technical too much to be a Dave Pogue.)Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 6

Patriotism is not blind devotion

“Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism.

A patriot does not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience…”
—Rocky Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City

This is in response to Rumsfeld’s speech in that same city equating dissent with appeasing the Nazi’s. To understand the context, Salt Lake City is the capital and largest city in the state of Utah which is the most pro-Bush state in the union and one of the few places where he still enjoys a positive approval rating. This city and state is also the home town of my mother’s family.
Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 6

Aryan Fever

Someone from Taiwan told me their sister isn’t digging some guy because he’s Asian and she’s not into Asians.

This, of course, reminded me of “Yellow Fever.” What’s weird about that mockumentary is that it isn’t about “Yellow Fever” since that’s when a white guy is digging some East Asian girl.

What do you call it when a asian girl only goes out with white guys?

I asked my good friend Redgee for what they call it—after all, if anyone should know it should be a Filipino. 😀

First he suggested “twinkie” but that wasn’t quite right. He didn’t know so he coined the term “Aryan Fever.”
Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 5

Hatin’ Katie

Am I the only person in the world who simply thinks that the Katie Couric thing was just a pretty good retouching job?

Katie Couric

(Some people say that this isn’t retouched and then go into a spirited defense involving anamorphic film. Haha you guys are funny! I bet you believe that those girls on the magazine covers at the checkout stand really look like that.)

Sure, I think as much as the next guy that someone as vapid as Katie Couric being anchorwoman for CBS is a sign of the Apocalypse, but puh-leez…Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 1

Light Painting

This movie is simply amazing. To understand why, you still have to know what “light painting” is.

Basically, the concept is to take your camera and put it on a tripod and set it on bulb exposure. You open the shutter, then take a lighter, matches, or a flashlight and paint the scene (or doodle), and then close the shutter.

These people did that, did it again, and again, until they had made a stop-motion movie!
Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 1

Canon is the only brand…

Reid Stott, an unapologetic Canon photographer, quotes: “Canon is the only D-SLR brand to own and manufacture the sensor, processor and lenses in house.”

How come when I read that I think to myself the days when Apple was the only personal computer brand to have their own design (industrial, chipset, architecture, protocols), software operating system, and manufacturing “in house”?

How did that turn out for them again?

Posted on by tychay 6