Richard's Notes

The Age of Laura Linney

This is an excellent profile piece by Frank Bruni on this under-appreciated, excellent actress.

Her sleeper: You Can Count on Me is one of our favorite movies.

Laura Linney at Wikipedia

The Solar Roadway is a series of structurally-engineered solar panels that are driven upon. The idea is to replace all current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with Solar Road Panels that collect energy to be used by our homes and businesses. Our ultimate goal is to be able to store excess energy in or alongside the Solar Roadways. This renewable energy replaces the need for the current fossil fuels used for the generation of electricity. This, in turn, cuts greenhouse gases literally in half.

Solar Roadways

[via Dale Allyn]

Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943

These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations. The photographs are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color.

Absolutely incredible collection: the US after the Great Depression, before World War II.

An Analysis of Lightroom JPEG Export Quality Settings

Jeffrey Friedle on how Lightroom’s JPEG settings differ from other applications that can convert RAW and TIFF images to JPEGs and how to think about evaluating each image being converted to JPEG so as to get the most compression with the least loss of image quality.

This is an extremely well written and useful.

[via Daring Fireball]

I’ve been collecting quotations for years and figured I’d put my collections online for others to use as they wish. Enjoy these quotations, use the comment form to share any quotations by Josh Billings you don’t find here.

More on Josh Billings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Billings.

The trouble with people is not that they don’t know but that they know so much that ain’t so.
- Josh Billings

The wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the grease.
- Josh Billings

There is gravity in wisdom, but no particular wisdom in gravity.
- Josh Billings

There’s a great power in words, if you don’t hitch too many of them together.
- Josh Billings

Live within your income, even if you have to borrow money to do so.
- Josh Billings

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.
- Josh Billings

Advice is like castor oil, easy enough to give but dreadful uneasy to take.
- Josh Billings

A learned fool is one who has read everything, and simply remembered it.
- Josh Billings

Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius.
- Josh Billings

The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way.
- Josh Billings

Continue Reading »

BlindType vows to autocorrect all wrongs with your iPhone or Android virtual keyboard

Wow, this is an impressive system: forgiving of “fat fingers” and amazing word prediction. It looks like it won’t play nice with the iOS built in keyboard but maybe someday it will or maybe Apple will simply buy them.

BlindType

Flipboard may very well be the killer app for the iPad. It’s the ultimate aggregator and content presenter for everything you track: The New York Times, Facebook, Twitter, blogs with RSS feeds, everything with a feed.

Robert Scoble interviews Fliboard CEO, Mike McCue and once they get into the meat of the app it’s worth watching to get a better handle on what Flipboard is: First look at “revolutionary” social news iPad app: Flipboard.

[via Jon Moss]

Great piece by Sandip Roy on NPR: A Uniquely Indian Perspective On Gay Marriage. Listen to it.

I’ve been collecting quotations for years and figured I’d put my collections online for others to use as they wish. Enjoy these quotations, use the comment form to share any quotations by George Bernard Shaw you don’t find here.

More on George Bernard Shaw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw.

The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.
- George Bernard Shaw

If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience!
- George Bernard Shaw

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw

A doctor’s reputation is made by the number of eminent men who die under his care.
- George Bernard Shaw

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

Fashions are induced epidemics.
- George Bernard Shaw

An asylum for the sane would be empty in America.
- George Bernard Shaw

Continue Reading »

Let me preface this by saying I love my iPhone4 and no doubt Apple is going to give me a credit for the bumper I bought for it.

The Apple USB charging cable on the left is the older one although still sold by Apple to work with iPhone4 (see blow), the Apple USB charging cable on the right came with the iPhone4.

With the Apple bumper installed on iPhone4 the newer cable works fine but the older Apple cable doesn’t fit into the phone. Take the bumper off and the older cable works fine.

Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable

This USB 2.0 cable connects your iPod, iPhone, or iPad — directly or through a Dock — to your computer’s USB port for efficient syncing and charging or to the Apple USB Power Adapter for convenient charging from a wall outlet.

As if Apple didn’t have enough public relations problems with the iPhone4… and now everyone will have a bumper.

I don’t know about you but I have a few of these cables I bought as extras and it would be a shame to have to replace them with new ones that Apple doesn’t seem to sell as accessories.

Addendum: After talking with a friend who’s had a 3G, a 3Gs and now an iPhone4, we’ve come to the conclusion that Apple changed the cable when the iPhone 3Gs came out but they’ve failed to update the picture on their store. If you buy that cable from the Apple store you get the newer (smaller) one, not the one pictured. The extra cables he bought from Apple for his 3Gs are the same cable that comes with the iPhone4 and work fine with the bumper.

So, this problem only affects people who bought iPhone charging cables pre-iPhone 3Gs.

Bear Mountain, Salisbury, Connecticut. We met "Bloodhound" (his trail name) on the top of Bear Mountain yesterday. Since early June we’ve seen dozens of "thru-hikers" on the Appalachian Trail; hikers who are doing the entire 2175 mile Appalachian Trail hike from Georgia to Maine (map).

I had a plan to take a picture of each of the thru-hikers we’ve met over the past few months but felt odd about it (like street photography on a wilderness "street") and didn’t do it. I asked Bloodhound and he was fine with it.

I’m less interested in doing portraits of this group of people, more interested in illustrating my awe at meeting a variety of people who plan and execute a 4-6 month hike along a difficult trail. Some people do it in sections over many years, others, like Bloodhound attempt to do it all in one continuous hike. This is serious stuff. Some thru-hikers are young (we’ve met high schoolers) and some are older than 63 year old Bloodhound. Some hike it solo, some as couples and some in small groups. We met a father and son team two days ago, very nice people. There is a trail culture (including trail names) that we get glimpses of from the various hikers we meet. There are people in towns along the way that put thru-hikers up, help them clean clothes and restock their food and more. All of this is impressive to me and I have no doubt that doing something like this is something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

Bloodhound (from North Carolina) started in February which is very early but he’s been taking his time and enjoying the hike. He’s an incredibly nice guy who we talked with for quite some time as he rested and ate his candy bar.

Apple held an iPhone 4 Press Conference today and Steve Jobs showed how iPhone4 reception compares with other leading smart phones. All phones seem to lose reception when gripped tightly and regain reception when gripped loosely.

I happen to agree with Jobs that this entire “antennaegate” issue is way overblown. I have absolutely no problems with my iPhone4, none, and I love the new features in it. It’s a fantastic phone and is a joy to use. I’ve only dropped a single call in the entire time I’ve had it (on Brace Mountain in the Taconic Range) and here in my office I have only 2-3 bars of reception on a good day and have never dropped a call.

Jobs said I’m going to get a credit for the bumper I bought already (for protection, not improved reception) and that’s fine by me. Everyone gets a free bumper with iPhone4 now, a goodwill gesture and a good move by Apple.

I did the iOS 4.0.1 software update earlier through iTunes and it works just fine on my iPhone4.

If you’re on the fence on iPhone4 I have to say, don’t believe the hype, it’s an incredible tool that will blow your mind.

My friend Gary sent me this card when our cat died. I ordered some cards and sent this card when good friends of ours lost their dog.

Anne Made Cards are just the thing for animal lovers or anyone who enjoys her playful sense of design and humor. They’re well made and reasonably priced.

New York City from Above

The Denver Post has put together a fine collection of aerial images of New York City (mostly Manhattan). Most of the images were taken by Daniel Acker for Bloomberg News but there are other photographers represented as well. This is one, fine collection.

Digitimes reports: Apple readies 11.6-inch MacBook Air and new iPod touch.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if this new version of the MacBook Air was an iPad with a folding keyboard. Run iOS and put a multi-touch screen on it and lose the trackpad and you have it. Sell it for under $1000.

Better yet, allow it to run both Mac OS and iOS in spaces.

Now that’s something I’d love.

Actually, more seriously, it’ll no doubt be a bow to netbooks and will run various applications off the cloud.

I’ve now had an iPhone4 for a few weeks and my wife Anne has had my old iPhone 3G running OS 3.1.3 for the same few weeks.

While Apple is being raked over the coals for how they’ve handled reception issues with the iPhone4 Anne and I are incredibly happy with our iPhones. I’ve had one obvious dropped call with the iPhone4 and Anne has had none with the 3G. Both phones are working beautifully.

It’s important to note that neither of us are experienced or heavy mobile phone users but both of us deeply appreciate the design and ease of use of the iPhone.

Reception issues and bumpers
I’ve watched the Consumer Reports video showing iPhone4 reception dropping when the bottom left corner of the phone is touched. I can reproduce the problem on my iPhone but not to the extent that they do in the video. I’m not denying it’s a problem but for me, it’s no deal breaker.

Apple was out of bumpers when I got my phone but I just got one (ordered online) and while it may improve reception by shielding the gap in the antennae from touch, I’m using it for protection, not improved reception. However, with the bumper on reception here in my office as gone from 2 to 3 bars and that’s meaningful.

Given the issues Apple is having I do think they should be giving a bumper to iPhone4 users and for those who bought bumpers already, a credit. Bumpers aren’t cheap although they are well designed and work well to protect the phone.

FaceTime
I’ve had a dozen successful FaceTime calls with people all over the world; FaceTime works smoothly and while I’ve been video chatting on computers for years, somehow Apple got it right on the iPhone4. I hope they transfer this technology to Mac OS at some point. Some would say that the fact that FaceTime doesn’t work over cellular networks (yet) and only over wifi is deception in advertising but I doubt that seriously:

People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With the tap of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the globe, or watch your best friend laugh at your stories — iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 over Wi-Fi. No other phone makes staying in touch this much fun.

I agree.

And people are doing FaceTime on planes with wifi networks. I had no idea this was possible and I can’t wait to try it.

MobileMe
I was an early .mac user and I never liked the service, it was unstable and poorly designed. I dropped it after a year of frustration. For the first year I had the iPhone 3G I used iTunes and a cable to update contacts and calendars and I generally pushed data from my Mac to my phone, using the Mac as a master and the phone as a slave/reader.

I decided to give Apple’s cloud service, now called MobileMe another try and bought a family subscription for Anne and me when I bought the iPhone4.

While I still think MobileMe should be free, I have to say that it has worked like a charm for both Anne and me for syncing our iPhones to our respective computers. It works in the background to push updates back and forth and lessens the need to do a cable sync with iTunes.

More
I’ve been using the multitasking feature of iOS4 quite a bit and it’s working well for me and the improved camera in iPhone4 is a joy to use.

Again, I’m no power iPhone or mobile phone user but both Anne and I are extremely happy with our iPhones and with MobileMe. We’re having fun.

Copyright Andy Singer: www.andysinger.com

How to get through a tough problem? Get started.

This is an old Andy Singer illustration that seemed useful to post in these times of great frustration and cynicism.

Huntington Gardens, Pasadena, California. Not much in bloom except roses during this visit to the gardens. I’ve never been crazy about rose flowers as photographic subjects but their buds are nice and of course, varicolored rose bokeh works.

I’ve been collecting quotations for years and figured I’d put my collections online for others to use as they wish. Enjoy these quotations, use the comment form to share any quotations about cats you don’t find here.

Dogs come when they are called. Cats take a message and get back to you.
- Mary Bly

When the cat and mouse agree, the grocer is ruined.
- Persian Proverb

Cat: a pygmy lion who loves mice, hates dogs, and patronizes human beings.
- Oliver Herford

Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.
- Jeff Valdez

Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect.
- Steven Wright

Operationally, God is beginning to resemble not a ruler but the last fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat.
- Sir Julian Huxley

Cat: a soft indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.
- Ambrose Bierce

I do not know what the cat can have eaten. Usually I know exactly what the cat has eaten. Not only have I fed it to the cat, at the cat’s insistence, but the cat has thrown it up on the rug, and someone has tracked it all the was over on to the other rug. I do not know why cats are such habitual vomiters. They do not seem to enjoy it, judging by the sounds they make while doing it. It’s their nature. A dog is going to bark. A cat is going to vomit.
- Roy Blount Jr.

Continue Reading »

Author Whose Bookstore Is the No. 2 (or 4, or 5)

“Excuse me, ladies and gentleman,” he called out.

“I am not begging, borrowing or asking for your food. I don’t represent the homeless, I’m not selling candy or selling bootleg DVDs,” he said, then paused. “I write books.”

This story made my morning. If I run into Randy on a train I’ll buy his book and get it signed. I’ll buy two and donate one to our local library.

One person selling books on a train doesn’t sound like it could have the leverage of social networking on the web but in fact, those of us who see things like this can help amplify them by acknowledgement.

Go Randy.