Yet more thoughts on photoblogging

The one thing I wasn’t too sure about concerning Blogger’s “Hello” service was the fact that each photo would be its own post. While this is fine if I only wanted to share one photo a day or a week or whatever, it makes it difficult to set up nice photo galleries for trips and things. I have plenty of photos I want to share, and I’d like to have a nice place to do it.

I can’t install software on this site because my hosting plan doesn’t allow over 1500 database accesses an hour. I don’t know why anyone would think that 1500 database accesses an hour would be even remotely useful on a website. If you have a database driven site, the database is accessed every time someone loads a page. I had been testing the new Macross 2051 website on this server, and I continually hit the limit and had to wait for it to reset. The only way to get past this is to pay my host more money, something that I’m not willing to do at this point. (I have been thinking of shifting to a new host, but that has to wait until my current contract runs out.)

In any event, even if I was able to install software, I was worried about the storage cap. Most good webhosts have them. I wanted to be able to share as much as I wanted, without worrying about whether or not I was at my limit, or having to delete things to make room.

Enter smugmug.

Smugmug is a photo gallery service with a beautiful interface, plenty of customization options, and unlimited photo storage. With the two more advanced plans you can host unlimited videos and change the design to match your website, too. It does cost money…but it’s very reasonable money: a standard account is $29.95 per year, and a Power User account is $49.95 per year. Some webhosts charge $49.95 per month for the features you would need to run your own gallery! The next step up, Professional, is a very reasonable $99.95 per year, and comes with Guest passwords for adding (but not deleting) photos, use of your own domain, automated watermarks, and print sales.

So I’m going to be thinking about setting one up, with either the Power User or Professional account. I like the idea of being able to sell my photos (although I’m not sure who would buy them). The main draws for me, though, are the ease of use, the customization options, and the unlimited space.

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"What Tree Did You Fall From?"

No one but Matt showed interest in the “What tree are you?” post, but I figured I’d share all the possibilities anyway. Below is the exact email as I received it, except that I’ve 1) linked the trees to their descriptions to make it easier on you, 2) listed some people’s birthdays for my own reference, and 3) formatted it a little better.

Note how they repeat, and how some days are set off by themselves. One of these is Sean’s birthday, September 23, which makes him an “Olive Tree”. (I would say that some of that is true, but I’m not sure about all of it.)

Also note that Mari is the Lime Tree. heheheheh.

This seems like a neat reference for character creation.

“Find your birthday and then find your tree. This is really cool and somewhat accurate, also in line with Celtic astrology.”

Dec 23 to Jan 01 – Apple Tree

Jan 01 to Jan 11 – Fir Tree (Dad)

Jan 12 to Jan 24 – Elm Tree

Jan 25 to Feb 03 – Cypress Tree

Feb 04 to Feb 08 – Poplar Tree

Feb 09 to Feb 18 – Cedar Tree

Feb 19 to Feb 28 – Pine Tree

Mar 01 to Mar 10 – Weeping Willow Tree (Chris L.)

Mar 11 to Mar 20 – Lime Tree

Mar 21 (only) – Oak Tree

Mar 22 to Mar 31 – Hazelnut Tree

Apr 01 to Apr 10 – Rowan Tree

Apr 11 to Apr 20 – Maple Tree

Apr 21 to Apr 30 – Walnut Tree

May 01 to May 14 – Poplar Tree

May 15 to May 24 – Chestnut Tree

May 25 to Jun 03 – Ash Tree (me)

Jun 04 to Jun 13 – Hornbeam Tree

Jun 14 to Jun 23 – Fig Tree (Logan, Brooke)

Jun 24 (only) – Birch Tree

Jun 25 to Jul 04 – Apple Tree

Jul 05 to Jul 14 – Fir Tree

Jul 15 to Jul 25 – Elm Tree (AJ)

Jul 26 to Aug 04 – Cypress Tree

Aug 05 to Aug 13 – Poplar Tree

Aug 14 to Aug 23 – Cedar Tree (Ben, Mom)

Aug 24 to Sep 02 – Pine Tree

Sep 03 to Sep 12 – Weeping Willow Tree

Sep 13 to Sep 22 – Lime Tree (Mari)

Sep 23 (only) – Olive Tree (Sean)

Sep 24 to Oct 03 – Hazelnut Tree

Oct 04 to Oct 13 – Rowan Tree

Oct 14 to Oct 23 – Maple Tree (Kelly)

Oct 24 to Nov 11 – Walnut Tree (Connor)

Nov 12 to Nov 21 – Chestnut Tree

Nov 22 to Dec 01 – Ash Tree

Dec 02 to Dec 11 – Hornbeam Tree

Dec 12 to Dec 21 – Fig Tree

Dec 22 (only) – Beech Tree

YOUR TREE (in alphabetical order)

Apple Tree (the Love)

Quiet and shy at times, lots of charm, appeal, and attraction, pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, adventurous, sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate partner.

Ash Tree (the Ambition)

Extremely attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be very egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.

Beech Tree (the Creative)

Has good taste, concerned about its looks, materialistic, good organization of life and career, economical, good leader, takes no unnecessary risks, reasonable, splendid lifetime companion, keen on keeping fit (diets, sports, etc.).

Birch Tree (the inspiration)

Vivacious, attractive, elegant, friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere.

Cedar Tree (the Confidence)

of rare strength, knows how to adapt, likes unexpected presents, of good health, not in the least shy, tends to look down on others, self-confident, a great speaker, determined, often impatient, likes to impress others, has many talents, industrious, healthy optimism, waits for the one true love, able to make quick decisions.

Chestnut Tree (the Honesty)

Of unusual stature, impressive, well-developed sense of justice, fun to be around, a planner, born diplomat, can be irritated easily, sensitive of others feelings, hard worker, sometimes acts superior, feels not understood at times, fiercely family oriented, very loyal in love, physically fit.

Cypress Tree (the Faithfulness)

Strong, muscular, adaptable, takes what life has to give but doesn’t necessarily like it, strives to be content, optimistic, wants to be financially independent, wants love and affection, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered at times, can be unruly and careless, loves to gain knowledge, needs to be needed.

Elm Tree (the Noble-mindedness)

pleasant shape, tasteful clothes, modest demands, tends not to forgive mistakes, cheerful, likes to lead but not to obey, honest and faithful partner, likes making decisions for others, Noble-indeed, generous, good sense of humor, practical.

Fig Tree (the Sensibility)

Very strong minded, a bit self-willed, honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals, a social butterfly, great sense of humor, likes idleness and laziness after long demanding hours at work, has artistic talent and great intelligence.

Fir tree (the Mysterious)

Extraordinary taste, handles stress poorly, loves anything beautiful, can become depressed at times, stubborn, tends to care for those close to them as well as helping strangers, rather modest, hard worker, talented, unselfish, few sexual relationships, many friends, doesn’t want foes, very reliable.

Hazelnut Tree (the Extraordinary)

Charming, sense of humor, very demanding but can also be very understanding, knows how to make a lasting impression, active fighter for social causes and politics, popular, quite moody, sexually oriented, honest, a perfectionist, has a precise sense of judgment and expects complete fairness.

Hornbeam Tree (the Good Taste)

Of cool beauty, cares for its looks and condition, good taste, is not egoistic, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and acknowledgment in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom happy with its feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious.

Lime Tree (the Doubt)

Intelligent, hard working, accepts what life dishes out, but not before trying to change bad circumstances into good ones, hates fighting and stress, enjoys getaway vacations, may appear tough, but is actually soft and relenting, always willing to make sacrifices for family and friends, has many talents but not always enough time to use them, can become a complainer, great leadership qualities, is jealous at times but extremely loyal.

Maple Tree (Independence of Mind)

no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress.

Oak Tree (the Brave)

Robust nature, courageous, strong, unrelenting, independent, sensible, does not like change, keeps its feet on the ground, person of action.

Olive Tree (the Wisdom)

loves sun, warmth and kind feelings, reasonable, balanced, avoids aggression and violence, tolerant, cheerful, calm, well-developed sense of justice, sensitive, empathetic, free of jealousy, loves to read and the company of sophisticated people.

Pine Tree (the Peacemaker)

loves agreeable company, craves peace and harmony, loves to help others, active imagination, likes to write poetry, not fashion conscious, great compassion, friendly to all, falls strongly in love but will leave if betrayed or lied to, emotionally soft, low self esteem, needs affection and reassurance.

Poplar Tree (the Uncertainty)

Looks very decorative, talented, not very self-confident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.

Rowan Tree (the Sensitivity)

Full of charm, cheerful, gifted without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest, and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.

Walnut Tree (the Passion)

Unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

Weeping Willow (the Melancholy)

Likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others laugh.

THX 1138

In theaters! On DVD!

I’m too emotionally worn out to start complaining about what “George Lucas Director’s Cut” might mean.

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Photoblogging

I would have to open a blogspot account to get the free hosting (I must have misread earlier, in my enthusiasm). I’ll have to think about that, because I’m not sure I want to have two different places to update.

Bleh :>

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This may soon become a photoblog.

Or I might set up a separate blog on a separate page. Or a separate blog on this same page. Either way…photos!!! @_@

Yes, that “free hosting” part is very, very, very, very nice…

Blogger totally rules. I am so glad I didn’t quit using it back before all these awesome updates.

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It’s really cool when this happens.

I subscribe via RSS to About.com’s Japanese guide. This morning I received a short lesson about the kanji 海, meaning “sea”. Without even looking, I thought, “umi”.

It was just neat that I knew the pronunciation. It was almost instinctive. I guess some words have filtered their way into my vocabulary.

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Koizumi is watching you!

Found this fun story via Carson Fire.

“Don’t send email on your cell phones or read comic books in Parliament while in session,” Mr Koizumi was quoted by the national Asahi newspaper as saying in a lunch on Thursday with 30 first-term lawmakers from his Liberal Democratic Party.

“You can be seen very clearly from the prime minister’s seat,” Asahi quoted Mr Koizumi, 62, as telling the lower house members in his office. “You should really stop that – it’s disgraceful.”

It would be awesome if freshman U.S. senators were playing video games and reading comic books in session.

Well, it wouldn’t be awesome, but it would be funny.

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Found him.

In the episode “Hatchery”, Ensign Walsh was in the armory when T’Pal’s mutiny began. Here’s a shot of him as he meets up with the rest of the officers (click thumbnail for full image):

Walsh went with Trip down to the hatchery to get Captain Archer. After they moved through the hatch and into the chamber, I got a pretty good shot:

His only line, as far as I can tell, was saying “Yes Sir” after Trip told him “You’re with me”.

I’m not sure if he’s going to end up a red shirt, or if he’ll have a recurring role as Walsh. It’ll be interesting to find out. His name wasn’t even in the opening credits, though, so I guess he’s not important enough just yet. He might have been listed in the closing credits, but I don’t have those to check.

TV Tome doesn’t list him either. I submitted the info; we’ll see if they add it. I listed him as “Duncan K. Fraser”, because there are two Duncan Frasers in Hollywood already. Useless Trivia: the K stands for “Kirkson”, because he’s the son of Kirk Fraser. Yes, that is true.

So yeah…he’s on Enterprise.

(Funny that they’re fighting “the Insectoids” now. AJ might–might–understand that joke.)

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I’m an Ash Tree

My friend Troy from EFNet’s #starwars! (ah, the good old days of sitting around resenting the elitists in #starwars…) sent me an interesting email about what tree you are based on your birthday. Here’s mine:

May 25 to Jun 03: Ash Tree (the Ambition)

Extremely attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be very egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.

This is supposedly based in Celtic mythology. If any of you want to know what tree you are, just post your birthday below :) (Ha! I’ve found a good way to get more people to post! Ahahahahaha!)

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Unappreciated, or misunderstood?

Lately I’ve felt as though my contributions, to friendships and to online communities, have been written off or ignored. To a person with an ego like mine, this is highly distressing. I have worked hard in most of these cases to help out as best I could, but either the people involved don’t care, don’t like what I’m saying, or don’t realize that my framework allowed others to draw the conclusions that ultimately helped them. Some of these are personal friendships and some of these are more professional things, but they all affect me the same way. I feel devalued by these people’s avoidance of or missing of the point…especially when the credit for a final decision winds up going to someone else, or to the person who needed the help to begin with.

I realize that I shouldn’t do things with the goal of receiving acclaim or thanks, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier not to think that way. I get quite a bit of positive feedback at work, so maybe I feel that I should receive adulation from everyone. I don’t know.

All I do know is that it’s been bothering me. At first I thought it was just a problem with dealing with other women; having a good friendship with a girl is about the most impossible thing in the world. (If you’re a guy, it’s a lot easier, as far as I can tell, to befriend a girl.) I think girls keep internal score cards and expectations that are impossible to predict and live up to, and while guys can usually get over this and not care whether or not they fit the mold, other girls have more trouble with this. I personally go back and forth between wanting to please the girl and being annoyed that she wants me to change who I am.

So it would be understandable if it was just girls I was having trouble with. But today a guy misinterpreted me (apparently) and also didn’t take everything I said into account in his response. I understand that he’s busy, but I almost would have preferred that he not respond at all, if he was going to give so little thought to my input.

I want to be respected, seen as someone whose advice is useful and good. But all I’ve seen lately is people ignoring or misinterpreting what I say. I think I’m intelligent and have good thoughts…I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong in presenting them to others.

Maybe I’m doing the girl thing and having unrealistic expectations…

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Okay, wow…

Blogger has just added a crapload of new features, including comments. Their comments feature appears to be far more robust than the Blogkomm thingy I’ve been using; I can turn comments on and off individual posts, I can limit comment posting to a specific group of people… Wow.

Blogger will also let me archive individual posts on their own pages along with their comments, which is what I was trying to do by archiving by day (which obviously doesn’t work if I post more than once a day). Plus, all Blogger templates are standards-compliant and machine readable, written in CSS, so that means I can look at the code of their new templates to see what I can do to make my site compliant too.

Essentially they’ve gone through and added almost everything I could want. (One feature that I would like that isn’t present is a means to truncate posts on the front page and only show a certain amount of characters, so more posts could go on one page, and so the reader could immediately tell if he/she has already read the post and see how many comments there are without having to scroll past huge, robust diatribes filled with gargantuan paragraphs. I’d also like an easy way to post photos, but you know, I’m just amazed at what they’ve done already, and I don’t really have the webspace for a photoblog anyway.)

So yeah, this is pretty impressive. I had logged in to write a story about “my first date”, but the new Blogger look totally derailed me. I’ll probably come back to that post later after I mess around in here a little.

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Ben’s Game

This has got to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Children are awesome.

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"The fast pace of modern life is stretching our Stone Age brains to the limit."

This is a fascinating article on how the limits of our short-term visual memory. I think that the idea that “limits on visual memory are related to limits on the number of items we can attend to at once” holds a lot of water. I’ve noticed that when I’m being inundated with information–such as articles on my Bloglines–I tend to feel like I’m overloading, often to the point that I scroll past things without looking at them, or even unsubscribe to something that is giving me too much to take in. Likewise, while I’m focused on a writing task, I have a hard time paying attention to anything else, including the music I’m playing in the background. The song could be running over and over for hours, and I wouldn’t realize it. Sean has tried to talk to me while I was writing (or reading), only to have me bark, “I’m busy!”

Less cognitive-intensive things, like making printouts, mailing packages, and sorting items are easier on my brain, so I can usually do two or three of those at once while listening to my boss explain something else. However, even then I sometimes have to ask him to repeat himself.

This limit on our conscious attention actually seems to be a fundamental behind a book Robert loaned me, Getting Things Gone by David Allen. Allen posits that having no plans or routines for dealing with multiple tasks causes them to pester us via our subconscious mind. His organizational system hinges on setting up areas in which to file work items so that we don’t have to think about them until it’s time to…thus freeing our minds to think about what we need to at the moment.

I don’t know if this is something we can, or even necessarily should, evolve out of. It seems to me that noticing what is important and then acting on that knowledge is a necessary part of life. Perhaps this is our brains simply being efficient. If we don’t need to see or know something, our subconscious minds may simply be ignoring those things in favor of what our conscious minds are dealing with. Would it really be better for the subconscious to stop doing this, and to allow the conscious mind to process everything? I’m not sure that it would be as easy to focus if that were the case–this might even have something to do with people having short attention spans/ADD.

Pretty interesting stuff.

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