Oct 12 The game telephone (although apparently its original name is a bit more offensive!) is a simple game that teaches us a valuable lesson. From it we learn that people are awful at accurate transmission of information. In the case of the game, it leads to amusement and fun when finding out how quickly and drastically words will change.
However the game is not as funny in its everyday depictions. We reference people who reference other people who read about some research piece in a magazine. Other people pass along hearsay as common knowledge, and we grow to have a distorted view of truth. We might see these everyday ranging from common myths about food to common myths about (unmarried couples) living together. Despite our best intentions at accuracy there is something that we will never learn from the telephone game as well as we should - we are just not able to effectively relate information. It is somehow beyond our grasp. We tend toward chaos simply because we are human.
(Then again that is why coming upon exceptions to this rule is so amazing!)
Lesson to be learned? You cannot relay information well so do it more judiciously. That is, information that you do not relay does not have the opportunity to prove that you are speaking falsely. Don’t trust me? There are more reputable sources.
Sep 30 I love making things instead of buying them. First I made a stealthy camera bag. And here I am making a better strap for my DSLR. I was inspired by looking around the Instructables website at other people’s camera straps. In particular, I was fond of the variants of the highly regarded R-Strap by Black Rapid.
Steps
- Sew nylon strap through swiveling hook with a box stitch
- Attach locking carabiner to swiveling hook
- Thread shoulder strap through both nylon strap and carabiner
- Cut original Canon strap, leaving enough room on the thick portion for a grommet
- Cut hole in thick portion, not too close to the edges
- Insert and attach grommet
- Attach skinny nylon strap of the original Canon strap to the camera
- Attach grommet on thick portion of original Canon strap to the swiveling hook
Parts
- Grommet kit ($7, Michael’s)
- Included Canon strap (free or less than $10, eBay)
- Swiveling hook ($4, Home Depot)
- Locking carabiner ($5, Amazon)
- Nylon strap (free, cut from an old messenger bag)
- Thread (negligible, already had)
- Shoulder strap (free, already had)
Conclusion
I enjoyed making this, especially when compared to the ~$60 R-Strap. It saved me some money. (Then again, that small amount of money saved hardly gets me very far in terms of purchasing new lenses!)
My main issues with the commercial R-Strap is its price and its attachment to the tripod mount. I don’t particularly trust screws to hold my camera, especially since it swings and hangs there. Additionally, it is quite difficult to put a camera on a tripod with something else attached to its tripod mount! This strap attaches to one of the metal tabs that is normally used for holding up the camera. It’s integral to the camera body, and I trust that it won’t break. If it does break, then it would drop just as it would have if I were only using the original Canon strap. In any case it is a pretty secure setup, and I will be using this for the time being.
A lot of my inspiration is from the Safer DIY R-Strap.
Sep 15 People want their private space. People need their private space. Some people have even been known to go crazy without it!
Unfortunately there are people who do not seem to really understand the whole personal space thing. My co-worker, Crom, is exactly one of those people. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that he enjoys getting all up in people’s business (and by business I mean personal space), but he definitely does it the majority of the time.
It’s even worse for the short ones! He is pretty tall (over 6’) and has a bit of a portly stomach, which I would imagine would make shorter people feel like he is intruding into his space even more if his stomach is near their face! Thankfully I am not at that height. Interestingly enough his girlfriend is pretty short at (I’m estimating) 5’2”.
The best part is getting to watch Crom do this to other people. Unbeknownst to him, I observe him and amuse myself with all of it. What can you learn from all of this? Beware of the watchful ones since they are probably analyzing and making fun of you in their head.
Sep 1 Beijing is well-known in recent history for hosting the 2008 Olympics. It is very populous. On another note it apparently is a hugely popular destination for Chinese people from other parts of China. They were everywhere, and it was not that pleasant to be around them all of the time. Yeah, that part I just loved.
Aug 16 Here are some pictures from my recent vacation to Hong Kong. I have decided that it would be a good idea to start posting more pictures (since I have started taking them). I played with the idea of watermarks for awhile, but I eventually settled on just including something small. In any case, we’ll see how this goes since it seems as if the blogging has started to peter out. Let me know what you think!
