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...

Seals galore!

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

So our final weekend adventure with Laura was to go to the Carpenteria bluffs and sanctuary, where there is seal mating season. It was soooo cool, take a look at the beach and the massive number of seals! It was SUPER windy on the way there, and the directions were not at all clear, so I was worried until we came across the last area. Definitely worth it...

Wine tasting part 2

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

On Saturday, with Michelle being a wonderfully understanding DD, Laura, her two friends, and myself all went up to wine country for some enjoyment of good weather, food and wine. We managed to get to three vineyards in 3 hours, and the peanut gallery only increased from the backseat. Poor Michelle had to put up with a bunch of buzzed happy people talking about everything from the king of spain to relationship challenges. But we all had a great time, and we stayed up in Los Olivos for dinner at a fantastic Greek restaurant called Petros. Definitely one to do again!

What am i doing wrong?

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

Our landlady's dog barks at me everytime i come up the stairs. Of course when i get close enough the dog will lick my hand, but what am I doing wrong?!?! (Of course our landlady has said the dog is just crazy). Very cute and sweet at times, but also crazy ;)

Wine tasting!

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

So even if the picture does not show wine, this was my first trip up to wine country. Beautiful area, and we visited Sanford and Roblar, along with a great little lunch at the Los Olivos cafe. I went with our friends Paddy and Ellon who were in the states from Shanghai. It was great to catch up with them, and Paddy was a total photo-nut, so he and I ended up running around snapping photos at anything that a) moved, b) looked interesting, c) everything else. It was super cool to visit this area, and I have a feeling I will be back more than a few times in the next few months!

Fins

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

...but good ones. We went surfing with dolphins!!! So cool, Michelle had energy to try and paddle out near them. we would get within about 20 feet. We also have a picture of a seal sticking his head out behind me in the surf. Such an amazing experience! Michelle is now hooked on surfing ;)

Writing a Market Research RFP

This is something I need to remember. (and it shows folks following the blog that i am actually working ;)

Writing a Market Research RFP

View more presentations from Kathryn Korostoff.

Lesson learned the hard way

The great thing about having a de facto garden in your front yard is all of the greens you can pick and add to your meal. The bad part is not knowing what is what. Take today for example, I decided I wanted a pepper (medium-sized, it looked ripe enough). So I picked it. And took a BIG bite. Didn't realize it was a spicy one, VERY spicy in fact. I still have the hiccups because of it in fact. Lesson learned, don't trust a pepper, no matter the size...

Stop spending money and fix your network

Okay, so I know how much TV campaigns cost. And as much as I appreciate the war between AT&T and Verizon over 3G, the number of issues I have had with AT&T, I just want them to fix their network. Stop spending millions of dollars telling us how strong your network is (when we know it isn't), and fix the infrastructure and software!! Okay, getting off my soapbox now...

BBQ

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

Now that is a chunk of meat! Turkey leg in fact. Did i get it just to say I did? Partially ;) Was it good? Oh yeah.

First time on a ferris wheel

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

Santa Barbara had a fair last weekend, which Michelle and I went to with a couple of her co-workers. Michelle won the pictured penguin in a water shooting game (the ONLY thing we won, after spending massive amounts of money on basketball, shooting, etc). It was a great time, with a few crazy rides as well!

Painted Cave

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

This was near the end of a 4 hour debacle ride. Overall the ride was fantastic, but there was some miscommunication (not helped by AT&T phone issues). So close to 4,000 feet of vertical elevation gain later, I met up with a friend's uncle who showed me some of the interesting areas nearby, including a village called Painted Cave. All of the town's mailboxes are here. Must be a bear to figure out where someone lives though if you don't have the mailbox number next to the house...

The wild thing about the ride was hearing about the forest fires that ravaged the area (the hills are different shades of green because of that, and what we are doing to stop them may be making them worse, since there needs to be fires to clear out the light underbrush, and by stopping that it leads to bigger underbrush instead that cannot easily be put out...ah human intervention to the natural order ;)

Apparently Lance Armstrong trains in the mountains behind Santa Barbara. The bike shop i use has his picture!

Phone and internet are overrated

When we first moved here I could not make phone calls from the apartment (or only sporadically). AT&T's solution? Send me a new SIM card that was California optimized. Of course before I installed it, my phone seemed to start working again, so I ignored it. Until yesterday. 4 dropped calls on the drive home, and I decided to try the new one. Now I can't get data or voice calls most of the time. Why am I spending $100 a month with AT&T again? I wish I could deduct $.20 from my account for every dropped call. I would be paying nothing...

The other fun one is internet. It seems to go in waves, sometimes full signal strength, sometimes nothing. This implies I really should be doing work outside of the home, because having multiple tabs open does not work. In fact, I could not talk with AT&T on Skype yesterday because the connection was so bad. Maybe I am not supposed to be working...

Baby Talk

I spent the weekend in SF, seeing old friends and enjoying the great weather. I even made time for a 2 hour bike ride with my friend Eric Davis. It was exhausting (several hills that took over 15 minutes to climb!) Needless to say I needed a nap later in the day...

A number of my friends have kids now, and it was highly amusing to hear some of the unique phrases. One doesn't say yes, but instead "sure" to everything. "What to go to see trains?"-- "Sure" (it sort of takes away the ability to see if the kid is excited. We figured it out in the end though...)

The other good one was the little girl who had mixed up "I" and "You" if you think about it, parents will always say "I" about themselves and "You" to the child. So I hear in the morning "I am pouring milk on the cereal" from this little one. My foggy mind in the morning pieces it together. "Oh, you mean..."

Random events in SF

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

My friend Eliot and i were just walking around SF, such a great sunday there, and there happened to be a number of cars in display for a 1,000 mile race around the area. Eliot met one of the founders of Kleiner Perkins. That and we walked into the cable car museum. We even managed to see the second half of my nephew's basketball game!

Rattlesnake canyon

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

I decided to do a hike the other day, nicely named Rattlesnake canyon. Thankfully I did not see any snakes, although my way back down wasn't the most direct (I thought i was taking a shortcut, which ended up turning into a dead-end). Instead of turning around (why?) I continued down, only to find more poison oak plants than i realized humanly existed. I got down fairly unscathed, but everything was tossed into the washer, since Michelle does not have a very positive reaction to that "wonderful" plant...

All said and done, the views of the hills, the plants, and ocean were fantastic to look at! Enjoying the days of green hills while they last!

My new ride

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

After too many weeks of searching, this is what I finally ended on. A Mazda 6 that was 4 years old, with a sunroof (perfect for CA) and a few other nice features. And the best part? They made a decent deal on Michelle's old car. so it all worked out in the end! Now watch Michelle or myself not need a car out there...

Artichokes in the front yard!

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

So we are pretty psyched about our temporary place, we have artichokes in our front yard (and rosemary and about 10 other herbs scattered around). Add to that an orange tree in our backyard, and life is good!

Creativity that pays

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Originally uploaded by gus_maclaurin

We thought that this was pretty unique and interesting, worth tossing a nickel or two down there! There were about 4-5 blankets with different sayings, cups set up similar to an amusement park (Michelle handed a dime into a cup about 8 feet away!)

Pelican dive bombing

We thought that this was pretty cool, watching a pelican dive from 20-30 feet down to catch a fish! It definitely struck home that we were in a new environment when we saw this! Next time I will return with my SLR to capture the motion in multiple frames!

The number of details

Now I am used to moving, I have averaged approximately 1 move per year since college. It gets tiring, but manageable. The latest addition today though surprised me. AT&T needs to send us a new SIM card, one that is optimized for our new location (ie we cannot make or receive calls most of the time). Now, if this is the case, would that mean i could not travel to the west coast (or vice-versa) and get reception? "Can you hear me now?" At least this has been an easier problem to fix...If only my list of things to do would decrease though!

Last night in NYC

Michelle and I were extremely excited about one final day in NYC, exploring great shops, food, and relaxing. Unfortunately we did not count on the weather, which happened to be cold and gray, encouraging us to curl up in our hotel and not leave! The highlight of our day (other than picking up our taxes from our accountant, who happened to have a number of mounted animals up on his wall - that was a bit surprising, although you do want your accountant to be willing to tackle any animals, even those from a division of the govt most of us dislike ;)

That evening we went running with Achilles track club, which was the group of visually impaired runners I used to run with in my last year in NYC. A few of my old regulars, Eddie and Hakan were both there that evening, I ran with Eddie and MIchelle ran with Hakan. As it was, I was not sure that the goal of 8 minute miles was something I could handle, but company is more important than hurting legs, so I figured I would try. Turns out we ran 7:30 miles in the end, so much for his tapering for the London Marathon! It was so great to see this group, all of them have such a zest for life, and don't seem to be at all slowed down by a loss of sight. It reminds you to be a little more thankful (or less grouchy when you get a paper cut for example). Eddie did admit that paper cuts bothered him a lot though ;)

To end the night, we talked with a few of the other runners there. There is continual banter back and forth, both on the run and off the run. Cracks about who is more popular with the ladies to who has the fewest brain cells. Dull this group certainly is not. One of them had a guide dog, and I had learned in the past to not pet them (these are working dogs, not playful dogs). Apparently Carmelo's was not quite as well trained however, as he started licking my leg after the run. Of course he shared his love around the group of runners as well. What exactly is he guiding again?

The best time to move

I will miss Spring, it has been amazing to wander (I mean drive, walking doesn't really work in NJ...) around Chatham and other lovely NJ towns, and to see all of the flowers blooming. Cherry trees among others, all of which seemed to sprout in one day. While my allergies may not like it, it has led to better bike rides and a reminder that it is not simply winter around here! That said, it has been nice to have a few cold days to remind us why we are leaving. It was down to 35 degrees the other night! Sunny Santa Barbara here we come!!

Moving craziness

So yesterday was an absolute whirlwind. Moving people started to come around 8:30 am. The first was a person whose job was simply to box up our TV. Apparently this is for "high-value" items, but would not include: computers, bicycles, Computer monitors, etc. I was scratching my head for a while as my Korean-made TV (with a brand name from Korea, and a menu in Korean) was worth this level of boxing, while both of our road bikes that cost over $1000 were just going to be wrapped in blankets...No comprende...

On the whole though, our movers were great, they were in by 9 or 9:30, and totally done by 2 pm! Not bad for 120 "pieces" It was strange to see our apartment so empty though. We made a tactical mistake in shutting off our power. Around noon I tried to plug in my phone and got nothing. THe phone was less of an issue than a vacuum cleaner however. THANKFULLY building maintenance was understanding and we did not have to do anything (and they did not charge us for issues with the apartment!) I was ready to ask them to wire a cord down to their shop down below, but they were relaxed about it. Funny how it all works (especially after the atrocious experience had at 816 Arlington and our witch of a property manager...you live you learn, right? Or maybe you just hope for the best instead.)

eBay and bidding fun

It has been interesting to be on the seller side for eBay. I have bought plenty of things, but man I am starting to feel bad for the sellers now. I have had my second challenging discussion with a buyer. In general, each time I have sold something, people are looking to save a few dollars. First one person doesn't like the merchandise, another person emails me and wants me to drop the "Buy Now" price. And now the last one says one of the products has been opened. And without a way to definitively prove this, it places me in a touch spot. It makes you wonder...Let's just say I don't plan on selling too many more things on eBay. On a side note, the fees charged by eBay and PayPal are ridiculous! I am clearly in the wrong business ;)

What happened to loyalty?

So one of the big projects for us has been to replace Michelle's car (and also for me to get a car, since most likely we will not be able to walk to work in Santa Barbara). And it has meant going to and from car dealership after car dealership...) Outside of the fact we no longer have any trust in any of these dealers, or that we have seen the absolute lowest trade-in offers for her car, the end question for me involves loyalty. Toyota offers loyalty, but only if you are in the same house. So your mother owning one does not count. And VW? Forget it. The only loyalty is if you buy a new car, at the same class. So a Passat owner wanting another Passat (you want a Jetta? So sorry). It makes you wonder, doesn't it? What is the concept of loyalty in car purchase? And the second question, what is the model you need, since it almost seems as though dealers have limited loyalty to the overall brand. They care about sales, but a customer lifetime value is not factored in...Is there a better way to run this? Would you buy from an "Amazon" of cars, where you could order online what you wanted and know exactly how much you are paying? Perhaps given the purchase cost of a car, people need to discuss the cars with experts. But the negotiation might end up turning as many people away...Imagine if you could negotiate your own plane ticket (in person). Or the cost of your meal. Or would you rather just buy and enjoy?

New cars

Every once and a while I am reminded what it means to learn about a new area. The latest is the car buying process. In general I believe in the concept of buying used cars. That is all well and good if you are a mechanic. I'm not. I know how to change a tire, check oil, jump start the car (and various other issues that I learned from my dad and his "reliable" cars). But to get a used car just seems like such a nightmare...I think I have managed to go to about 10 dealerships, go online to cars.com for 6 hours a day, and fill my head with tons of facts that may or may not be helpful in the end...Just hoping I can learn enough that I am not going to become my own part-time mechanic...