I, Curtis

My Name In Print

It happens occasionally…

http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/college-35187-degrees-gaston.html

I have mixed feelings about this photograph. Sometimes I look at it and want to do a poster-sized print of it to place on my bedroom wall, other times I look at it and think about how badly blurred it is. The color draws me to it, but so does the motion. I am conflicted on the depth of field and how badly distorted the subject is. Any thoughts from outsiders?

Planning Fleet Changes

Yesterday I blogged that there was no new assignment for CMK5. That has since changed. CMK5 will very likely be assigned to replace CMK4 as the mail/file/print server, as well as maybe take some of the virtual machine burden off of CMK6. CMK5 is faster than CMK4 and is a lot more capable, even though the system itself was never designed to be in a server role. This will of course place CMK4 as the system without a role, although that is something I am more comfortable with, since CMK4 has been a server for over 6 years.

CMK7

Meet CMK7, the newest member of my fleet. This system is the direct successor to CMK5, my 5 year old, aging, desktop. Surprisingly, CMK7 was built to replace CMK5 because CMK5 was running too warmly, not because of any other issues related to speed or hardware problems. Physically, CMK7 stands about 6 inches shorter, and 2 inches less lengthy than CMK5. I also selected a high-gloss case for this system, to match the computer’s intended operating system, Windows 7, as well as its new 20 inch wide display that replaced a 17 inch standard display that replaced a dead 15 inch standard display.

Now for the geeks:

Case: XION XMP 100
Motherboard: MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad Core
RAM: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
HDD: 500GB SATA3
Video: GeForce 9400, 512MB
PS: 500W ATX
Other: System also features a DVD burner and built-in card reader.

Not a particularly high-end system, but it meets my needs and then some.

Current active members of the fleet: CMK4 (file/print/mail server), CMK5-m (laptop), CMK6 (web/media server), CMK6-m (Mini9), CMK7 (new desktop), CMK3-m (laptop on alternate assignment). In addition, my fleet includes several wireless access points, a digital media receiver, and a pair of network printers. At this time there are no future plans for CMK5.

On a side note, this is the first published picture taken with my new speed light (flash), my room is no where near that bright. What do you think?

New Schedules

The Department of Psychology at Fayetteville State University has finalized its course options for the Fall 2009 semester. As a result, I have altered my schedule accordingly and added courses that I need to my schedule. I did not get all of the courses I want, but I can’t really complain, since I have a full schedule and am still on track for graduation. My only complaint would be that PSYC 320 is not available, so I will NOT be able to take PSYC 380 in the spring (its on there for now until I find another elective).

Also, please note the new coloring for GITI’s Academic Course Listing, goldenrod is now the color used for courses that are officially registered, and purple will remain as the color for “planned” courses… And not that it matters, but red is the color used for “active” courses, and finally, green is used for courses that have been finished and closed. All other course statuses take the color of their parent status (“closed, waiting for grade” is green, because the course is closed, etc).

Speedlight Happiness

I received my new Nikon SB-600 on Monday. I have not had a lot of time to play with it, but from what I have seen, it eliminates harsh shadows and allows me to adjust the angle of light in a very flexible way. The LCD on the back is a little intimidating at first, as it uses symbols that are unfamiliar to most photographers who have never used a separate flash before, but it is easy enough to learn and the device will talk to an iTTL (intelligent Through The Lens) camera and immediately add proper lighting. There are still many features of the flash as well as the flash/camera combo that I have not yet explored. I really like the built in flash diffuser, it forces the flash to a wide angle and makes light bounce around the subject and causes a soft shadow. The flash works well with faces, although, I am eager to try it with the more sensitive 35mm f/1.8 lens when it ships.

Photo Storage Solutions

I have used a variety of photo printing systems to have photos printed in the past year. Now a year after starting most of my accounts with these printers, I am receiving emails stating that my photos will be deleted if I do not order from these places. I do not quite get this. I uploaded my photos for printing only, not for storage, but apparently, I am the only one who does this and somehow I am supposed to be shocked and horrified and rush out to order prints that I don’t need. Between my new photo printer, ShutterFly and Fromex Labs (QPrints) I have more than enough ways to get things printed without having to order them from the photo-whores of Kodak Gallery, RitzPix or Walgreens.

As for actual storage, my 500GB drive and its 300GB backup are doing fine with storing my photos without me having to worry about anything. If those get full, I simply replace them, and then I get to keep a copy of my photos that I control without being at the mercy of giant photo printers to keep them safe.

Change of “Normal” Lens

After carefully considering my lens options for standard lens, I have decided to change from the originally selected Nikon AF 50mm lens, and have instead selected the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens. I was originally going to obtain the 50mm, which is somewhat above the normal range for the purpose. The 35mm lens is a newly released lens and is not even in stock at Amazon.com yet, but I have already placed my order, awaiting the arrival of their stock. The advantage of the new lens (which is about $60 more than the original selection) is that it is AF-S, so it will focus itself using the “silent wave motor”. Being at “normal” (50mm) will give me a neutral field of view angle, so nothing will appear distorted from the compression of a zoom, or the slight curving of a wide, but will just be natural. The aperture of this lens is the same as the previous candidate, so I will have the same amount of light entering, but with a sharper focus due to there being an electronic focus mechanism in place.