adventures in peru

I broke down and purchased a digital camera in Lima Peru.

You know how they say the best laid plans get sent awry….

I was going to tough it out with disposable cameras, but soon realized the futility of that plan when I used up three disposable cameras in the first 4 days. Que Lastima! The first half of our trip was in the Galapagos Islands, but those pictures will not available until after I return home because they were shot on film. I enjoy shooting candid photos, and am fascinated by the detail and perspective you can get from taking close-up “marcro” type shots as well. Disposable cameras severely limited my options for both of these kinds of shots, and knowing I would have to wait so long to see anything was simply unbearable. Although I realize no camera can capture images as well as the human eye, I decided to take the plunge and try to come as close to it as possible by getting a digital camera of my own.

Our tour guide Franz recommended a department store near our hotel in the Miraflores district of Lima Peru that sold digital cameras. Using my college Spanish, I was able to find the photo counter and explain to the saleslady what type of camera I was seeking to buy – it needed to be near the middle of the scale in price and have “point and shoot” capabilities but also allow some room for custom settings so I could experiment with different types of shots. I also wanted something that could capture video clips (just in case something fascinating happened near me). She helped me choose a fine middle-quality camera that I have been very happy with so far…a SamSung L310W. The charger is for 220 Volts with funky plugs (standard Peruvian electrical connectors), so once I return to the States, I will need to use a converter, but it will forever serve as a reminder of this magical trip! I was able to pick up the camera and an 8 GB compact flash memory card for about $326.00 USD, so I think I came out pretty well.

I have posted a couple of “teaser” shots and will post more (possibly an album) once I get back home.

Cheers!

first glimpse of macchu picchuperuvian hygenics

On the road again

Wow, it’s been a busy week!
We just got off the boat from cruising the Ecuadorian Galapagos Islands for three days. The wildlife was completely unafraid of us and we got to do lots of snorkeling and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. The last two times we went snorkeling, some sea lions decided to join us, and we saw a 6 foot shark — not sure what kind, but I was not inclined to investigate! This place is truly a “paradise on earth”.

I did not get my act together enough to purchase a digital camera before the trip, so my pictures will be coming later (or sooner if I can borrow from other people in our group).

Today, we’re heading out of Ecuador from Guayaquil and on to Lima Peru.

back from the abyss

Back in the saddle again after a long time distracted….

You might notice that I’ve changed the name of my blog from “Fat Blue Spark” to “Titanium Sparks”.  This is in keeping with my new golf clubs, which have titanium heads. When you make solid contact with the ball, the impact creates a small spark.  It is kind of like the reward for making a good stroke – in addition to better ball travel, you get free entertainment!

Next month will be busy for me. First, I’ll be attending the Better Software Quality Conference in Las Vegas NV from Jun 8 – 11, 2009.  Then on Jun 22 I’ll be traveling to South America for 10 days. We’ll be visiting Ecuador and Peru.  I’m planning to post pictures and video on this blog as we travel, so please stay tuned!

MS Office 2007 impressions— hmmmm

I’ve recently been using this project to acquaint myself with the new technology. It has a slick “new century” kind of feel and the real-time zooming is cool – I guess they want it to compliment the new Windows Vista operating system.

I tried doing some of my usual tasks (make a Powerpoint, create a spreadsheet with formulas, create and review Word docs) and have been able to feel my way around well enough to do almost everything without having to crack open a help file (thank God!).

One thing I find interesting is the fact that there is built-in support for Macromedia tools like Contribute and FlashPaper but nothing for Microsoft’s own tool Web Experession Designer.  You can actually write something in MS Word and then hit a button to “publish to website” or “post to blog”. Why would they do that for someone else’s product but not their own?  Things that make you go “hmmmm”………

Isn’t it funny how everyone blogs about “LIFE”? — AKA the “meaning of life”

Is it just me, or is it really true that every time I visit this site, I see that “Life” is the leading tag for new posts?

What exactly does that mean? I mean, if we are all alive (and I assume we are), wouldn’t anything we write about automatically fall into this category somehow?

I also wonder if I am the only person interetsed in techology, or am I just doing this bass ackwards from the getgo.

Anyways……here  I am…. a little perplexed in Salt Lake City UT, USA

It costs an arm and leg

Have you ever wondered where some of the expressions and cliches come from that we use? The subject fascinates me to no end.

I heard this one the other day from a friend. It seems that during the Renaissance,  portrait painting was all the rage. Even people of ordinary means would strive to have their portraits painted by artists.

 The cost of having such a painting done was contingent upon the pose used by the model because certain perspectives and parts of the body are easier to draw than others. Arms and legs happen to fall into the more difficult category, so if someone had a portrait done that showed an arm or a leg  it was likely to be quite expensive; hence the expression.

Code Charge (by YesSoftware.com)

This looks like an awesome tool, but it sounds almost too good to be true. I have not yet found a development environment that could handle both Java-based and Microsoft.NET-based code with equal grace. I especially like the fact that you can select any kind of database you want to use with it.

This could be the holy grail I’ve been seeking. The prices are reasonable  compared to other tools that do similar things, it has an active user community and the company is still small enough to care about technical support. Documentation seems a little sparse, but then I haven’t looked into very deeply yet. 

I’ll be evaluating it over the next two weeks and post my results.  If anyone has tried this tool, I’d be more than happy to discuss your experience.

http://www.yessoftware.com/products/#

Age is all in your head

A  backyard party conversation overheard:

Yesterday I was relaxing in my backyard and noticed the neighbors were having an outdoor party. Lots of kids were present and three of them were bouncing up and down on a trampoline that was set up near the fence dividing our property. There were two little girls and a boy; none of them could have been more than 7 or 8 years old.

One of the girls asked the boy, “Are you little?”.

The boy proudly replied, “No…. I’m FIVE!”

I got reminded that age is just a number. What really matters is how you handle it in your thinking and attitude.

9 holes of bliss

 

OK, so I played my second nine-hole course ever. I got a free pass from the Utah golf show that was good for 9 or 18 free holes, so I decided “why not”?

This course (Cedar Hills Golf club) was located in Cedar Hills UT (kind of halfway between Salt Lake City and Provo). Up until now my only experience with playing on a course has been at the University of Utah. The difference was like night and day!  Cedar Hills has many more water hazards and sand traps and the fairways seem longer as well. It takes a good degree of control just to make it off the first tee- for example at the first hole, all the tees are situated on cliffs.  You have to lob far enough and high enough to clear several yards of tumbleweeds and brush, a biking/running trail, the golf cart path  and a fast moving stream.  At my current level of play, I am happy just to make contact with the ball, so needless to say, I skipped that tee and went directly to the fairway.  It was pointless to keep score, so I concentrated on using good form and having fun. However,  I am convinced that they are in a conspriracy to make people lose their golf balls so they can sell more.When I become a better player, I will go back there and play the heck out of that place!

TY DANIELS REVIEW>> http://www.tydaniels.com/cedar-hills-golf-course/

Card Space

Last week I attended an MSDN event where they were discussing “Card Space” which is purported to replace usernames and passwords on the web. It was an interesting concept for me because I have become a little overwhelmed with the number of passwords and usernames that I’ve accumulated in the my time as an internet user. Many times I have wished for an alternative, and this sounds like a viable possibility. Also, it sounds highly preferable to implementations that use biometrics to authenticate users.

Microsoft’s page on it is here>> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa663320.aspx