I have been biding my time for the past few years, waiting to take the plunge on a new digital SLR such as the Nikon D3x or the Canon 5D. I still have my old Nikon F4 from my days as a professional photographer, but I've put off buying a new digital SLR because I was hoping Nikon would come out with a decent camera that conquers the noise problems that have plagued every single one of their digital SLR models to date -- a fact that has sent droves of former Nikon loyalists over to the Canon camp in recent years. In fairness, the latest Nikon models are much better than their older models and take beautiful pictures by most standards, but even the latest models still lag behind Canon in terms of retaining detail at high ISO settings. The newer Nikon models simply have better built-in noise reduction than previous models, which results in detail loss. And forget about "full frame" shooting unless you want to spend upwards of $5000 on the professional models. So it was with some interest that I read an article at KenRockwell.com describing a "Free full frame digital SLR ". In the article, Rockwell discusses his recent experiences shooting traditional 35mm film and getting it developed at Costco. It has become incredibly cheap to simply use regular 35mm film and have it developed at someplace like Costco which apparently gives you great scans of your negatives on disc, along with 5x7 prints, negatives and the CD they give you has thumbnails of all the images printed on the disc itself. He makes a compelling arguement for a resurgence of film as an alternative to high-end digital cameras. He convinced me, at least for the short term, to go back to using my old Nikon F4 for high-end full-frame photography, and just get a mid-range point-and-shoot for situations where it's more convenient to use a digital camera. I may still break down and get the new Nikon D300 despite its shortcomings, but I think it's time to take the old F4 for a spin in the meantime.
Get Your War On: The Definitive Account of the War On Terror 2001-2008
My favorite comic is getting ready to be relased as a single volume. You can preorder now. If you hate the war and love to laugh, do yourself a favor and order this. You can also read all the GYWO comics online for free here.
BBS The Documentary
This is by far the most comprehensive and entertaining documentary I have ever seen regarding the early BBS system. If you're serious about knowing your internet history, or you just want some extra geek-cred, this is your new favorite documentary.
The Nada Chair "BackUp"
The best alternative I have found to overpriced ergonomic office chairs, especially for very low pain around the sacral joint. Works better than my Aeron chair ever did. Also, it comes in navy blue and black, in case you're not into the whole pregnant woman aesthetic (pictured).It's really not meant for sitting on the floor, it's really better for seats that offer poor back support, and works great at sporting events to make sitting in bleachers much more comfortable.
Antec Quiet PC Case
At just under $120 including a 500 Watt power supply, this "quiet pc" case has worked great for me for over 2 years. In fact I now own two great Antec cases/PSUs. For the money, it's hard to beat this combination.
