S.o.t.D. – Come Alive (Alan Wilder Remix) – Nitzer Ebb

Come Alive (Alan Wilder Remix) – Nitzer Ebb

GSI N-Case 840

I received this GSI N-Case 840 at Xmas last year.

Made of Lexan and weighing 77 grams (2.7 oz.), it’s approximately 14cm (5½") by 6½ cm (2½") by 3 cm (1¼").

There is a spot at the top to attach a lanyard, around the peg...

...and one at the bottom through the hole.

The lid is closed with a secure latch. I tested it out in the tub and everything inside stayed bone dry. It behooves a user to inspect that seal often though. If it’s being used to keep safe an expensive piece of electronics, make sure that the gasket hasn’t degraded, and that no debris is lodged in there that might affect the seal.

The case comes with two lanyards. One is a ribbon, with a small ball that has a hole in the center. The ball slides to adjust the lanyard to the desired length and also serves as a breakaway. It’s fairly secure, but real force would rip it free. Of all the breakaway lanyard systems I’ve seen, this is the one I like most. It’s secure enough for most day to day use, but an unusual circumstance like getting it caught would rip it loose.

It attaches around the peg at the top and can be worn around the neck or slung over a shoulder. 

The other lanyard it comes with is a length of elastic cord with a small plastic clip at one end.

This part attaches through the bottom hole. If the case is worn across the body, it can be clipped to a belt loop to avoid it swaying to and fro.

Of course the user is free to devise whatever system works best for them.

The fact that the case is made from Lexan makes it very strong. While anything can be broken, reasonable day to day wear and tear won’t destroy it or the contents within. The seal is very water resistant. I don’t know how it would hold up to extended dives at depth, but an unexpected dunk, a rain shower, or going for a swim at the beach with your ID and money inside will be just fine.

What excited me was that it is a perfect fit for my new Samsung ES70 camera. Like it was made for it. No rattling or anything. Perfectly snug fit.

If you’re going on vacation and want a case that you can keep your hotel key, credit cards, cash, etc. in when you’re playing in the surf with your kids, if you’re a canoeist that wants to protect a camera from a potential dunk or bumping, if you’re a cycling commuter in the Pacific NorthWest and want to protect your cell phone from constant rain, this is a great container. Several means of attaching it to oneself or to a bag, capable of protecting against jostling, bumping, dunking, soaking, and rounded corners to carry comfortably in a pocket. All in all I’m very happy with this case and I think others will be as well.

You can read a follow-up review here.

Cardinal

S.o.t.D. – Peacock Tail – Boards of Canada

Peacock Tail – Boards of Canada

Putting the Gulf Oil Disaster Into Perspective

We all know it’s a catastrophe of epic proportions.

But trying to wrap your head around the magnitude of it all is difficult.

This link is fascinating on a few levels. It shows the heights and depths of our planet. But more pertinently it shows just how deep the well head is.

http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/infographic-tallest-mountain-to-deepest-ocean-trench-0249/

And this one shows the extent of the oil spill in relation to where you live.

http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/

Yikes.

Logo – CMYK Registration Mark

Something I did for a printer I worked at years ago. Never got used, but...still kind of like it.

Logo – U-23

Custom logotype for a band.

My view for the last year

My camera for the last two years has been a Fuji FinePix A610. While I would have loved a far better camera, it was what I had, and I made do with what I had. (I is a po’ boy.) And I’ve certainly taken a pretty crazy amount of photos with it. Close to 20,000. It has served as a way to chronicle my various adventures, and catalogue all of my various creations. It has done a great job of taking macro shots, and done all right with just general photography. Long distance and low light photography were a bust though.

One big drawback for the past year has been the fact that the LCD screen on the back has been damaged. And this is what I’ve had to look at.

I must have bumped it against something hard when I had it in my pocket. A small bit of damage appeared, but I could still access most of the controls. After my water logged adventure on the North Mountain, water must have gotten in and damaged it even more. The pattern I saw, looked like a culture spreading across a petri dish. And it changed over time as well. 

Not being able to see the picture I had taken wasn’t so big a deal, since I uploaded pictures on to a computer shortly after taking them. In order to take a photo all I had to do was point it in the right direction and click. Usually a few to make sure I got it all. Sort it all out later. But not being able to access the controls anymore was an issue. I remembered the button sequences to get to certain things but other features had become inaccessible. 

Well I just got a new camera. (More to come on that.) And I can now happily roam all through the controls, see what I’m shooting, see what I shot. Yippee!

But as annoying as that oddly shaped and coloured glob was, I kind of liked it. I have a thing for accidental art, and this was an interesting image that was created without any intent. I’m sure I’ll use it in some bit of graphic art I do at some stage.

But it has got me wondering. There are protective covers for lenses. Why doesn’t something similar exist to protect the LCD screen? If I bumped it and damaged it, I’m sure others have as well.

S.o.t.D. – Escarpment Blues – Sarah Harmer

Escarpment Blues – Sarah Harmer

Spend any amount of time reading here and you’ll come across mentions of the Niagara Escarpment. I can see it from my window and I always love wandering along it, under it, over it. 

Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer/songwriter. In the summer of 2005, she launched the I Love the Escarpment tour. Harmer and her band toured communities near the Escarpment throughout southern Ontario, both performing and speaking to promote Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), a conservation group she co-founded. While the immediate aim was to battle a proposed quarry development near her childhood rural home near Burlington, it was also to raise greater awareness about the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

A film called “Escarpment Blues” documents both the live performances and her activist work from the tour, and won the award for Best Music DVD at the 2007 Juno Awards.

I especially love the line “The wild ones won’t have anywhere to go.” I can identify with that sentiment.

SuperHero/SuperVillain/SuperNerd

Went to visit my friend Stef and his son today and had to admire his collection of comic book super heroes/heroines and super villains.

The good guys and gals on one shelf, bad guys and gals on another.

The forces of goodness and righteousness.

The hordes of evil and chaos.

What a nerd. Glad I’m not that geeky. Oh...wait……

Nerf N-Strike Recon CS6

My nephew got one of these about a month ago and it’s been a favourite plaything for a while now. The stock is a bit flimsy, the “tactical light/laser” is a joke, the sight needs to be mounted on the back of the receiver, and the flip-up sight is pointless. But it’s a fun toy. And it’s pretty much a carbine that fires soft squishy pinkish orange darts. (They’re so soft and squishy that they don’t last for long. It’s a bit like an inkjet printer. The device doesn’t cost much, but the consumables end up costing you.)

He was a total fumbler with it at first. Struggling to get the magazine out, getting rounds jammed up inside it, pointing the muzzle at his face as he struggled with it, switching hands as he tried to manipulate it. No good.

First thing I taught him was safe firearms handling. Finger off the trigger, assume it’s always loaded, be aware at all times where the muzzle is pointed, and be certain of your target and what is beyond it. It took a lot of drilling to get those concepts into his head. “How am I supposed to shoot it if I can’t put my finger on the trigger?” But I made sure he understood those concepts entirely. As much a it may be argued that it’s merely a toy, I’d rather inculcate those concepts into his head now.

Then I moved on to how to hold it, aim it, use the sights, correct stance. I showed him how to remove the magazine (“Keep holding it in your right hand, use your left hand and pull the bolt back. Now take your index finger on your right hand and pull back the magazine release catch.”) Then I showed him how to clear jams. (“Pull back the bolt, flip up the flap and check the chamber. Can you push the round into the chamber? If so push it forward, close the flap and push the bolt forward. Rock on! Or if the round is jammed, pull back the magazine release catch and remove the magazine. Remove the round, reinsert the magazine and rock on!”) I had a prototype sling that I put it on it and showed him how to use it. From there I showed him how to move and shoot, do quick reloads, use cover, etc. If he had a Nerf pistol I would have showed him how to do transition drills.

I’ll have him ready for the zombie onslaught. :-)

As we were walking along that morning he said “See uncle Thomas. My finger isn’t on the trigger. And I’m making sure to point it in a safe direction.” Good lad.

He seems to dig the bandoleer, but I can tell he digs some of the rigs I have even more. I may have to sew him up a special one with pouches sized just for Nerf magazines, dump pouch, the whole deal.

Which I did.

Nerf’mups

S.o.t.D. – Marching the Hate Machines – Thievery Corporation

Marching the Hate Machines – Thievery Corporation

Typeface Design – TicTocTom

A typeface done for lettering a comic book, TicTocTom.