Absurd Singularity

Possibly one of the worst-kept secrets ever in recent photography history, the Nikon D700 was announced a few days ago for release amazingly, at the end of July. Now this particular camera was expected as everyone figured Nikon would have to answer Canon's 5D eventually. I think most people however, were surprised at the speed that this camera actually came into being considering the D3 was just released late last year. On paper, its specs are pretty darn enticing. With the D3's sensor and AF crammed into a D300-like body, a few extras thrown in like sensor dust cleaning, and a price tag that's $2k less than the D3 (but ~$1.3k more than the D300), it's a pretty compelling product for those who desire a full-frame sensor and superb AF on a smaller, lighter body. Myself included.

So the missus and I spent a few hours of our free time this past weekend catching WALL•E at the local cineplex. I think this was our first movie at an actual theater in years but I just had to watch it what with all the hype and all. Typical Pixar fare, it was an enjoyable time. The environmental and social messages weren't particularly overbearing since it was covered in a humorous, and sometimes over-the-top manner. But because they appear somewhat light-hearted, those messages don't feel like they have much impact on my consciousness either. The best animated feature I've seen that makes you aware about man's impact on the land is Pom Poko by Studio Ghibli. It's quite a funny film yet never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

As for the romantic portion of WALL•E, let's see... (warning: spoilers ahead!) a short, puppy dog-eyed otaku who's only contact/knowledge of the opposite sex is through a screen finally meets a strong, confident, gorgeous, svelte career woman with an itchy trigger finger. After nearly vaporizing our otaku protaganist a couple of times, she falls into a coma after he gives her some nice herb, aka "plant." After more trials and tribulations, the woman finally develops warm and fuzzy feelings for the lil' geek after witnessing how devoted he was in taking care of her while she was in the coma. Struck by lightning twice yo! But by that time he's already three-quarters of the way towards the scrapheap of no return while attempting to help her achieve the all important "directive." Distraught, she desperately brings him back to life only to find out that he has amnesia! Curse you gods!!! But in the end, a little hand and forehead nookie is all that's needed to revive our plucky trashbot and they live happily ever after. To sum up it's a chick flick merged with a geek's wet dream.

Anyway, as I said before, it was an enjoyable film and I have no problems recommending it. It's cute and fun and what Pixar was able to achieve with minimal dialogue was pretty great. I'm not sure if it would be my favorite Pixar film to date (The Incredibles was pretty incredible) but it's up there.

Got up bright and early this morning at 6am for the Apple iPhone 3G launch. Was thinking that I had probably gotten up too early but figured I'd go and drop by the local AT&T store for a look. Got there a little before 6:30 and there was already 20+ people in line. Was prepared for the wait with my trusty ol' PSP. Thank god the weather had turned super nice the past few days instead of massively humid as it was early in the week. Still, by the time 9am rolled around the sun was beating down on our backs like crazy. Or maybe it was just cause we'd been lounging around out in the sun for 2 and a half hours already.

By the time I was ready to enter the store, we already knew that the 16GB models were sold out (which means this particular store only had ~20 16GB units to start with) so I was resigned to picking up an 8GB. They were taking orders for the 16GB for delivery in 7-10 days though. If there is one good thing I can say about the painfully slow purchase and activation procedure, it's that it helped me get the 16GB that I had intended. This particular AT&T store had more employees on hand than computer terminals so the employee helping me and I were just standing around waiting for a computer to open up when I watched a FedEx guy stroll in with a hand truck full of boxes. They were taken into the back room and I asked my guy to check if they happened to be more iPhones. And they were. Bunch of black and white 16GBs. So I was much more psyched than I was just a few minutes ago. Incidentally, the white iPhones look really nice.

After I paid for my new phone and service, I had to waste another 40 minutes hanging around while my guy tried to find a computer that could actually activate the phone. To no avail. By this time the Apple servers handling the activations through iTunes had presumably crashed so nothing was going through. Company policy was that all iPhones had to be activated in store before leaving the premises but since that was no longer possible, they just gave us our iBricks and told us to try to activate them ourselves.

So I stepped out of the store at a little after 10am, 3 and a half hours later. It took another 4 hours before my phone finally activated and sync'ed up with my iTunes. My first impression: "Mm, it's an iPhone." ;-p Not really a massive change from the original. The glossy plastic back is just begging for a case and I hope CoZip comes out with their polycarbonate back case soon for the 3G. The side buttons are now much easier to detect by feel and the speakers do sound louder and no longer seem completely muffled if you hold the iPhone at the bottom.

Nothing majorly different with the new 2.0 OS either (besides the ability to purchase/download and install new apps. Haven't gotten around to really digging into the App Store and checking them out yet but a few standouts that I've noticed so far include Remote, midomi, Twitterrific and Exposure. Is 3G that much faster than EDGE? As far as I can tell with the limited testing I've done today, it does seem faster but I'm not 100% certain on how appreciably faster it may be. I'll probably have a better feel for it after a few days of regular commute use. GPS functionality makes location mapping much more accurate now obviously but I haven't but it through its paces yet either. Oh, but being able to geotag your iPhone photos is pretty cool.

Apple's new MobileMe service was finally up (sorta) this afternoon as well so being a long time .Mac member, I set up the push sync'ing for email, contacts and calendar. First notable thing it did was wipe out all my contacts that were already in the phone so I was contact-less for an hour or so before MobileMe finally figured out that it should start sync'ing stuff between my MobileMe account and my iPhone.

So was it worth it? Jury's still out as far as I'm concerned. I still need to call up AT&T customer service to see if I can somehow rejigger my iPhone account and Erin's normal account into one family plan again like it was with the original iPhone. Right now I'm signed up for the lowest priced individual iPhone 3G plan. Considering I had sold my original iPhone last month for more than the subsidized cost for the iPhone 3G, it didn't really hurt to upgrade as far as the phone's up-front cost is concerned. Anyway, as I've only had this thing for a day there's still a lot more futzing around to be done. I'll post more impressions in the upcoming days/weeks if I remember to. ;-p

When I first ran across this series on Netflix, the title intrigued me as I thought it may be similar to some other anime with similar sounding names that were quite good like Only Yesterday or I Can Hear the Sea or The Place Promised in Our Early Days. Boy was I wrong. Not that this series is bad, it was just completely not what I was expecting. 13 episodes in all, after the first disc of 5 episodes I was ready to give it a solid 8 out of 10. After finishing the other 2 discs, I originally lowered it down to a 7 but after sleeping on it, brought it back up to 8.

This is not a children's title despite the main characters being children. The themes and plot are seriously adult and the fact that it's happening to children makes it doubly worse. I must commend the storywriter for being hugely more optimistic on the merits of "no killing" and the extent that one should take it to than I. When I first finished watching it, I was left a bit uncomfortable and disturbed. After sleeping on it, I realized that the reason I felt that way was because even though the series seems to have had a "happy ending" at first glance, it actually didn't. [SPOILER ALERT] Sure the psychotic (and really freakin' annoying) villain was dealt with and the protagonist was able to go home but the casualties along the way lingers in the mind and just keeps gnawing away at you. So really it's not a happy ending at all.

So I don't know if I want to recommend this series or not. As usual it's not for everyone. I was pretty engrossed while watching it and I usually like recommending stuff that really gets my emotions going but I'm still hesitant on this one for reasons I can't articulate at the moment. But if you've got the time, by all means check it out and let me know what you think.

So the first thing I did upon arriving at the office on Friday with my new iPhone 3G was hit my favorite screen protector provider to see if they had one compatible for the new phone. And they did, so one's winging it's way to me now and will hopefully be here in a week or so.

And since I was at the Short Hills Mall earlier today I decided to drop by the Apple Store to laugh at the losers in line waiting to get their iPhone 3G check out what cases they had that would be worthwhile. ;-p And that's how I left the store with a black eye, torn shirt and bloody knuckles the Agent18 SHIELD. Also picked up a Power Support Crystal Film Set to use while my Brando ones are on the way.

First up was the crystal film set. While Brando is still my one true love, these protectors from Power Support aren't half bad. Pretty easy to put on and fit perfectly too. My application method is to make sure the cutout on the bottom fits around the main button perfectly first and then apply the rest of the protector upwards.

The Agent18 SHIELD fits perfectly as well. Since I rarely drop my gadgets, my case tendencies trend towards those that are as thin as possible that will protect against daily wear and tear and scratches. I started off with a similar clear, form-fitting plastic case for my original iPhone last year but came to dislike it eventually because even though it was form-fitting, dust and dirt and stuff still found a way in between the phone and the case so you had to periodically open it up to clean things out. I don't think this Agent18 case will be any different so I'm still keeping an eye out for CoZip. But the Agent18 does seem to fit a bit better than the one I had before so we'll see. It also has a ribbed texture on the left and right sides for better grip.

My condensed review of the movie, Wanted:

[SPOILER ALERT]:

He was your father
They lie, I am your father
Bang bang bang, all dead.

I give it a 7, maybe 7.5 out of 10.

So earlier this year Sigma announced their new 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens which works on both crop and full-frame bodies. Earlier this month, they started shipping and after seeing some initial reviews I decided to pick one up to check out. Now I've tried 2 of the 3 (well, 4 if you count the discontinued f/1.0) Canon 50mm lenses and had found them lacking in one way or another. The two f/1.4's I've had in the past had great image quality but after gettiing used to the L-quality build on my other lenses, the f/1.4 is rather lacking in that area to say the least. The one f/1.2 copy I tried was not sharper wide open or at f/1.4 compared to the f/1.4 nor was overall image quality that much better and that combined with the purported focus issues at close distances between f/2-2.8 was enough to have me drop the lens from my collection.

So on the basis of the early reviews alone, I had high hopes for the Sigma 50mm. Build quality is nice. It's part of Sigma's EX lineup which is their top-of-the-line so it has that somewhat rough-looking (but not feeling) dark grey finish. It's no L but definitely steps above the f/1.4. The amount of glass this lens appears to be packing is impressive as well which is a little odd cause the Canon f/1.4 doesn't look to be containing anywhere near as much glass. Although my eyes could be deceived by the 77mm business end of the Sigma. The HSM motor focuses the lens silently and quickly enough and I have more confidence in it than that odd lil' micro-USM drive that the Canon f/1.4 uses.

But the most important part obviously is the quality of the images that this lens makes. Truthfully, with this copy, I wasn't overly impressed at its sharpness wide open. Then again I've always thought I've been spoiled by the 2 Canon f/1.4's I've had previously because to me they seemed great wide open which is typically where most reports on that lens say it falls flat. But stop it down a bit and it looks very good. Plus you can always sharpen things up further with PS3 and/or Noise Ninja. If it weren't for the slight softness wide open, this lens' IQ won't be beaten by Canon's offerings.

However, the one thing that this lens excels at is blowing away OOF areas. The bokeh that this lens produces is super creamy and smooth. Whether or not one likes that type of bokeh is obviously based on personal taste. I do like it, especially for portrait shots. For those with crop bodies it's like having an 85mm f/1.2 at a third of the price. And considering that many other owners are calling this the sharpest 50mm they've seen (my copy notwithstanding), this can be a pretty compelling lens.

Another issue with this lens that I'm seeing is that the autofocus doesn't seem to be 100% reliable. Every now and then I get a shot that appears to be front-focused even though I'm 100% certain that I focused on the correct spot. Because of the obviously slim depth of field that such a fast lens can have in combination with its mushy bokeh, I'm having a tough time deciding whether the lens actually has a focusing problem or if it's just been user error. So I have another copy on the way that I'll do a comparison with and hopefully that will help reveal the true nature of this lens.

Either way I'm still undecided on whether or not I'll keep a 50mm prime around. A few months back I was seriously considering searching for a superb copy of the Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens, dropping my 35 f/1.4 and 85 f/1.2 lenses and just going with a 3 lens (2 zooms, 1 fast prime) set. But after completing my Holy Trinity of primes recently, I'm less inclined to go that route. Plus I think I'm getting used to the width of the 35mm and am not so enamored with the 50mm length anymore. So we'll see.

[UPDATE]: So the second copy of the Sigma 50mm came in and after a few quick tests, it's just a tad softer than my first copy. And my Canon 35mm still beats both in sharpness and also displays a bit more contrast than the 50's. Color is pretty good though. Autofocus on both of the 50s seem to show a tiny bit of front-focusing so I'd probably have to send both my body and lens in to Sigma for calibration if I were to actually keep them.

A condensed review on an old Ang Lee film that I just watched through Netflix:

Father and daughters
All things are not as they seem
Life throws you curveballs

I give it a solid 8/10. And it made me insanely hungry. God I miss Taiwanese food.

Once again, review of Just Friends, via Netflix:

Heart crushed by best friend
Ten year stud makeover works
Just friends no more natch

I give it a 6/10. When it comes to movies, my standards aren't very high. ;-p

Yeah so I'm on a quest to trim down my 496 disc strong Netflix queue the hard way. My take on Il Postino:

Postman friends poet
Ladies love romantic verse
Bittersweet closure

I give it a 7.5/10.

So if Google Analytics is any indication, there's a bunch of iPhonatics out there eagerly waiting for CoZip to update their polycarbonate slim fit case to fit the new 3G. I was one of those fanatics. Well, if you don't care about the brand (and you probably wouldn't since these things are all made in China anyway), and you don't mind feeling a bit ripped off, you can hit Amazon right now and pick up this Apple iPhone 3G Soft Polycarbonate Slim Fit Case + Screen Protector.

The good? It's pretty much exactly like the CoZip except it's got a ribbed texture running down the back and the right and left sides for less slippage.

The bad? They're charging you $25 for it compared to the CoZip which starts at $7. That's a pretty big rip. Sure you also get a screen protector but this thing is possibly the crappiest piece of clear plastic masquerading as a screen protector that I've ever seen. It's thick and it's not even cut smoothly. The edges on the bottom corners are all jagged. First thing I did was toss it in the garbage.

The eh... There's no hole in the back to let the Apple logo show through. Instead there's a "Kroo" logo. I know this may matter to some people more than others. It's a non-issue for me.

So there you have it. A slim polycarbonate case for the iPhone 3G has hit the market. Do with this info what you will.

Loved the first movie, Netflix just sent me the BluRay version of the second:

Smokeless bong blows trip
End of line for NPH
Our guys get their girls

As I had heard, first movie was better but the second had its moments. I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Amazon blew my mind tonight by rolling out a new functionality that I had been wishing for for years now. Except I wasn't expecting it from them or any other already existing site. That functionality? The ability to add any item from any commerce site to your Amazon wish list. Humina humina. I don't know if it'll really work with any other site out there but from the limited testing I've done it works as advertised. I'm pretty psyched about this if you couldn't already tell. =)

Yeah yeah I'm still waaaay behind on Devon's gallery but I just wanted to put these few up right now. =)

Whenever he does anything that he's proud of, he'll clap for himself. It's funny and cute as hell but I just pretend that it's nothing special so it doesn't get to his head. ;-p

What is it? I have an important phone call to make.

Not the best composition (darn short tree) but the moment would have been lost if I got into a better position.

Apparently he loves dirty gardening tools. Who knew?

All right I want to go in now...