Last year I joined the swelling ranks of Smartphone users. My device belongs to the BlackBerry or BB clan. There are many things I like about the BB but my favorite feature is simply that my employer picks up the tab. Every month I get a corporate guilt report listing my BB charges and every month … Continue reading Why I Still Use my Ten Year Old Garmin GPS
WordPress to LaTeX Hack
This post is obsolete. Look here for details on converting WordPress to LaTeX. I have stumbled on another coding nuisance. Last weekend I spent a few moments exploring ways to export and print this blog in a nice typeset fashion. I first tried Blurb's book making software. It has a nice feature that automatically downloads blog … Continue reading WordPress to LaTeX Hack
Only Now at the End do you Understand
It’s easy to see why other generations detest boomers. Without a doubt this cohort, my cohort, is the most spoiled, self-indulgent, pompous and delusional generation in western history. We were born in boom times and grew up thinking they would last forever. Well, I am happy to report that nothing lasts forever. The boomers, now … Continue reading Only Now at the End do you Understand
Honing my Powers of Indifference
For years I thought it was rude to ignore people now I glory in it. In our overly social networked age it is vital to hone your powers of indifference. We cannot care about everyone or everything and we shouldn’t even try. Here are some people and issues I am ignoring. Gay Marriage: Gay marriage is not … Continue reading Honing my Powers of Indifference
Assigning SmugMug Print Size Keys
I believe that a picture’s aspect ratio, its width divided by its height, should be tuned to its contents. Consequently, I am not a slave to standard aspect ratios and print sizes like the ones shown in the following table. Aspect Ratio Print Sizes (Short/Long) (Inches) --------------- ------------------------ 0.5 4x8, 5x10, 8x16, 10x20 0.7 3.5x5, … Continue reading Assigning SmugMug Print Size Keys
Setting Good SmugMug Key Words
Finding good key words is not easy. In many ways it is like creating a good book index. Decent book indexes are carefully constructed by human readers that understand what is being indexed and why certain terms should be included. Superior indexes showcase the gems and bury the garbage. There is a lot of mediocre … Continue reading Setting Good SmugMug Key Words
More on SmugMug Duplicates
In my previous post I described a method for eliminating duplicate SmugMug images based on MD5’s. This method does not get all the duplicates. If you uploaded the same image to different galleries, at different times, the SmugMug MD5’s may differ. I don’t know what SmugMug rolls into their MD5 ‘s but I suspect it’s more … Continue reading More on SmugMug Duplicates
SmugMug Duplicate Image Hunting
One of the many things the developers of Thumbsplus got right was a proper normalized database schema. When I first inspected the layout of a Thumbsplus database I knew I was in good hands. In Thumbsplus image files get unique keys and image galleries are simply lists of image keys. Images can appear in any number … Continue reading SmugMug Duplicate Image Hunting
Command Line C# SmugMug API Metadata Download
I have a skeleton in my photographic closet! I enjoy hacking pictures as much as I enjoy shooting them. Before digital photography I got my jollies the old fashioned way with chemicals: dark room chemicals. I still get all emotional when I remember the scent of a fixer. Ahhh --- those were the days. Now, … Continue reading Command Line C# SmugMug API Metadata Download
Why Code when you can Steal
I am learning C#. Two years ago I swore a blood oath not to learn anymore programming languages. It’s been obvious for decades that you seldom find any new and important ideas in programming languages. What you typically find are old ideas renamed and wrapped in a new syntax. Virtually all key concepts in programming are over … Continue reading Why Code when you can Steal
Analyze the Data not the Drivel 