Yet another presence

Nikon Coolpix S9 Movie

Tue, 5 Dec 2006 21:48:56 -0500

This sample movie was made with PanoramaMaker version 3.5.1.76 using still shots from a Nikon Coolpix S9. The only problem I have found as you can tell from where the VR sequence opens is that it is hard to align the final place where the movie is stitched together. You can easily edit all the rest of the stitching. This image was created from twelve individual still shots done on a tripod using the panorama assist mode on the Nikon. Unfortunately in bright sun the panorama assist mode isn't very helpful since you cannot see the LCD. However, for software that is free and comes with camera, It does a pretty good job. You can also create and print some impressive photos. I have three that I have done which are over five feet long.

Coastal Sunrise

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:04:58 -0400

Fall has finally arrived in coastal North Carolina. The temperatures have dipped into the upper thirties and low forties along the shore.

The sky is deep blue and hopefully the fish will really start biting. Writing about the coast is a new endeavor, but one that I enjoy greatly. For the last two years, I’ve focused on a wide range of topics that interest me at viewfromthemountain.typepad.com,

View from the mountain was mostly written as a personal journal filtered by living on the side of mountain overlooking Roanoke, Va. You can find anything there from recipes to movie and restaurant reviews along with significant technology commentary and even some political commentary.

I just dropped by to try iWeb once more to see if it has improved. I’m using version 1.1, but I still don’t see an easy way to manage this blog from multiple computers. That’s a major limitation, and I doubt I would be willing to pay for an upgrade. Yet there are definitely some neat things about iWeb. Perhaps it will grow into real blogging software in the near future.

Now that at least part of my writing is coastal based, I have chronicled some thoughts on our adventure of finding a spot on the North Carolina coast at coastalnc.org.

Roanoke Valley Sunrise

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:53:27 -0500

I live in a place of extraordinary beauty. Unfortunately I’m not a particular expert at iWeb so the panoramic photo I chose to post has been cropped except in the thumbnail preview. It did post correctly on my Flickr Ocracokewaves site.

I’m still experimenting with iWeb, and comparing it to TypePad, RadioLand, and Blogger. Right now, any of them work better.

The time to do this is unfortunately very short since my new job at Webmail.us keeps me plenty busy.

Clear Morning Sky

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 10:49:10 -0500

It’s much cooler this morning, the winds are still blowing, and I have lots of paperwork to get done today. Unfortunately much of that work will involve entering numbers into “Quicken Premier Home & Business,” which isn’t available on the Mac platform so I’ll be stuck on my Dell laptop.

Even as some programs move over to the Mac platform, I find that there is still enough challenge for the non-Mac users that I can understand many of them saying that it isn’t worth the trouble.

In fact that is just what Clayton Christensen said in an interview detailed in a recent BusinessWeek online article.

“...most people are satisfied with their current PCs (using Windows and based on Intel chips) and find that the performance of their systems is good enough. Sure, there are people at the bleeding edge who want to do more. But a good Dell PC can be had for $500, and it has performance that's well beyond what most of us need.”

Sometimes Apple is it’s own worst enemy, and they don’t have a lot of friends to take up the slack. Take iWeb for example it has lots of potential, but it’s pretty clear to me, and I’m not a long term blogger, that iWeb could have benefited from some customer input.

One of the things I that I find almost essential in my blogging efforts is the “copy as plain text” extension for Firefox. So far it doesn’t seem to work in iWeb.

I hope that time and updates will improve iWeb. There are some neat things here, but right now there are enough challenges in the basics that I’m not sure I’ll get to the cool stuff.

Right now iWeb sometimes seems to insists on uploading the whole blog when I want to publish an entry. I’m hoping there is a way to turn that off or at least figure out when and why it happens.

In general it’s the little things that are probably going to keep me from spending a lot of time using iWeb which is a shame because it does have potential.

viewfromthemountain.typepad.com

Snow flurries

Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:12:02 -0500

Last night’s rain has gone. We’ve got dropping temperatures, high winds and snow flurries as a replacement.

Capturing a shot of snow flurries is a little like trying to bottle the scent of spring. You can mostly tell snow flurries up close when you see them and in the distance where they add some blurring to the scenery.

There is no doubt winter has returned for a day or two. As is often said, better now than in March or April. I would second that sentiment in a heart beat, especially given the challenging springs we’ve had recently. It’s almost most like the seasons are slightly out of sync.

The birds are also back on the feeders with a vengeance, and our spare backup cat is hanging around outside hoping to sneak in for a warm nap.

viewfromthemountain.typepad.com