What is a photograph?

I was having the debate today of what will happen to the concept of photography. In the past photography was about capturing a moment in time. Maybe tweaked here and there, but essentially a moment in time, in order to create an emotional response. Yet with the days of photoshop, and also the advent of video on all cameras, what will become the role of photography? I see black & white photos becoming a dying breed. And now the concept of actually capturing the act is becoming less and less so...For example, this NY Times article talking about a photo contest won by photoshop creations. I respect what you can do in Photoshop, but it implies a different sort of creativity. Less about framing what you do see versus creating a new world. The creativity in these Photoshop pictures is likely more impressive and requires seeing something that is not necessarily there. Perhaps it is akin to taking a photo in black & white, you have to see it in your mind, not on the camera...(at least in the old days)

Cameras the new guns?

Wow, this post is fascinating to me. People being arrested for videotaping police violence. While I am not sure how I feel about taking the police for granted (they do serve an important role in society), the US has always been about checks and balances. And one would think that is the role of YouTube ;)
http://gizmodo.com/5553765/are-cameras-the-new-guns

Interesting stuff, we'll see how this all plays out in the end...

Visiting Wellesley

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

Although I missed Michelle at my 10 year reunion, we did manage to spend the end of Memorial Day weekend today, including her showing me around her alma mater. It was a very interesting place, given the amount of green and nature in the middle of one of the richest suburbs on the east coast. We were able to see where Madam Chiang Kai Shek lived when she was there, as well as Michelle and her friends. And to top it all off, we went to Blue Ginger for dinner afterwards, which was great! Very unique fusion food, and a place that Michelle had been talking about for years, so we took her mom there for a belated birthday celebration. Needless to say, I need to go back. The butterfish and lobster were both amazing!

10 year college reunion

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

What a trip it was to be back in Boston, much less staying in the dorms (thankfully I did not have to share any twin beds, although a bummer that Michelle could not make it). Was fantastic to see a number of old friends, including folks who are scattered across the globe. We had folks come in from as far as India, Cape Verde in Africa and Ireland (and all of them are in the photo!) It was nice to have 2 full days to catch up with people, and to explore Boston and Cambridge again. I made it out for a 16 mile bike ride with my brother on Friday, and even was stupid enough to try to run part of the stadium on Sunday (I am NOT as fast as I used to be, which is why I only ran half of it). And we even managed to have lunch with the 5 year reunion (a real homer simpson moment there. this picture was after we found our actual group). I managed to stay away from flip cup at 2 am, thankfully since one of the group manage to lose a cell phone because of that...or the alcohol connected with that i should say...All told a great weekend!

Been a long time since i was in a boat

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

Talk about a nice intro back into rowing, went back for my college 10 year last weekend...and somehow ended up in a pair with a former men's heavyweight spare for the olympics...(now a pair is significantly harder and heavier to row than an 8, which is what i expected to be in...)

The first boat my college coach looks at us getting in and says "you will sink that one, take one of these other two..." we take down the next one and i sit down and something seems off. "uhm, i think this is starboard stroked, my oar is supposed to go off my right" carry the boat back up with peanut gallery comments "you guys just practicing carrying the boats up and down?" third boat worked well, but we must have rowed 6 miles or so, rediscovered the blisters on my hands and fun of trying to balance a pair. mind knew what to do, but the body was a little caught off guard ;)

The challenges with hardware and Apple

So I realize that people have a TON of issues with connecting devices, software malfunctions, etc. For example, I have almost never been able to hook up ethernet to my Mac (wifi is easy, but not ethernet, not sure why...) But I have had several calls with Apple customer support, and I have to say, they have been some of the rudest people. For example, when you don't have your install disk, you cannot install a portion of the software you meant to get, but forgot to...Or that no one can tell you on the chat service if your version is Not For Resale or just the "Academic" version. What is funny is that you lose the opportunity to build brand loyalty here. (There is a long rant about Amex and their car rental policy, which is why I refuse to use them now). It hurts you in the long-term, and yet people do not think on that level. But of course it opens up the door for places like Geek Squad. Then the service determines the hardware you buy. So the hardware companies need to be careful, since all that is keeping most people from switching is the software to enable them to easily switch (and that is much easier to build than the hardware...)

Hotels.com and Doubletree

Okay, a random question, when you book a hotel on hotels.com, and you select "Internet" i would expect that to mean "Free Internet" After all, all hotels i would expect at this point actually have internet? Well I am impressed by the way the Doubletree manages to nickel and dime its guests. Starting from paying for parking (when you own a HUGE lot), to internet charges. And they even have different tiers of internet speed. The slow one is SUPER slow, and when I called to ask about it, I found unfriendly people both in the lobby and also from their service provider. Needless to say, I went to breakfast at Denny's this morning out of principle, and I will not be staying here again...