Prosthetic Device

• Dang it! Fox livestreaming just froze #
• Wall Street running wild? We’re in this mess because of govt regulatory meddling, not deregulation #
• “Fairness” to increase tax on “the rich”? “95%” stat again. A lot of those folks aren’t paying ANY tax. #
• $250k is not “super wealthy” #
• Everybody is buddy-buddy: Joe, John, Barack… #
• Palin brought up small business — yay! #
• Palin: cross-state healthcare & $5k healthcare #
• But taking $$$ from ExxonMobil & giving it to middle class families *IS* redistributing the money! Biden claims that its “Fair” #
• Biden: No tax cut b/c of bailout. He keeps refering to ExxonMobile, but a biz tax rate cut covers SMALL & MED biz too #
• Palin: bringing in her background as AK guv multiple times #
• Biden: voted for energy bill b/c of support for alt energy — WRONG method to encourage alt energy #
• Palin: jeez, don’t blame it solely on Wall Street! Ok: reminding abt Fan&Fred reform blocked #
• Biden: wants bankruptcy judges to get wizardly powers to rewrite mortgages. Erg. #
• Ann Althouse sez Palin looks tiny behind her lectern — I hadn’t noticed #
• Biden: global warming caused by man, no doubt; sigh. The science is not open and shut. #
• Biden: 10yrs before wells yield oil. CA offshore wells could produce in 2 yrs #
• Biden: same-sex couples same rights as heterosexual couple; gah — he just slipped from “committed couple” to “marriage” #
• Palin: supports marriage between one man & one woman, traditional marriage #
• Biden: O’Biden doesn’t support gay marriage #
• Overarching impression: Palin is full of fight, good stage presence, attentive, responsive. #
• Biden: looking into camera but doesn’t have the stage presence #
• Biden: all for intervention (eg, Darfur) until things get sticky #
• Biden: if I become prez, I would follow thru on Obama’s policies. I listed bunches that I just don’t agree with. #
• Prevention! Cooperation! Cuz nobody has ever tried that before. #
• Biden: hey! I’m just a regular guy! #
• Palin: Say it ain’t so, Joe! Ok: with *THAT* line she sounded genuinely amused. Boom! #
• Biden said “principal” & I thought he was back in grade school for a minute… sent to the principal’s office! #
• Biden: Cheney most dangerous Veep in history!?! Oy. #
• Ann Althouse & Hugh Hewitt live-blogging & load just fine; NRO’s The Corner & Campaign Spot won’t load #
• Biden: “I haven’t changed in 35 years.” Another oy. I would hate to think I’m the same as when I was 17 years old! #
• Ann Althouse on Palin: “She hasn’t stumbled, and he’s seemed a bit boring.” http://tinyurl.com/4voftz #
• Biden: O’Biden won’t question people’s motives… unless O’Biden accuses them of racism for disagreeing. #
• NRO down per RedState: http://tinyurl.com/3nlnro #
• Palin: nice to talk straight to American people wo filter of MSM. Heh. #
• Biden: “most important election in your life” — um, it’s important, but some folks have lived a long time… #
• Debate’s over: everybody on stage for a group hug! #
• “Regular Joe” Biden had a senior moment during the debate last night, calling up a recent meal at a long-ago diner http://tinyurl.com/49y5oe #

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My keyboard and camera are prosthetic devices — they allow me to do things that otherwise I couldn’t do.

I can claim merely that I am a clumsy near-sighted introvert without my keyboard and camera. My challenges don’t rise to a dramatic level.

But I would fight you to the death if you tried to take away my computer, my keyboard and my camera.

And my connection to the Internet.

For a much more dramatic example of leveling the playing field, or using a keyboard and an Internet connection (and vocalizing software!) as prosthetic devices, watch this YouTube video:

I can’t sing. I have two left feet. I’m going deaf. Without corrective lenses, I qualify as legally blind.

But I can hear Glenda Watson Hyatt, the Left Thumb Blogger. You go, girl!

Give me my computer, my headphones, my keyboard, my camera and my Internet connection, and I can sing, I can dance, I can see as far as the Hubble telescope and I can hear a pin drop.

(Hat tip: Joanna Young at Confident Writing.)

• sponge for 7 grain bread now rising #
• Just tried adding DISQUS plugin to a blog — couldn’t get past authx in configuring the plugin #

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• @Scobleizer, re: John Culberson’s nay vote: when will Dems who opposed reform answer for that? Or for the mods to CRA that led to this? #
• @scobleizer, I understand the reason for bailout - not happy with the one we got - angry how we got here #
• 95 Dems voted against the now failed bailout bill - Mme Speaker couldn’t wrangle her own partymembers #
• @davewiner, why couldn’t Mme Speaker get the bill passed along party lines? She lost 1/3 of her caucus to nay votes #
• @lesliecarbone - Mme Speaker couldn’t wrangle her own caucus — & GOP is in disarray? Hmph. #

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• @lileks, if I could be convinced that transporters worked & didn’t separate you from your soul, I’d use one to get from here to there #
• @lileks, but for going nowhere in particular slowly, a train pulled by a steam engine is hard to beat… #

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Zebra Buy From Art.com

Just found Steve Simon by clicking around.

I love his twin portfolios on the recent political conventions — although he seems to have a shoe fetish. Shoes must speak to him about the character of the people wearing them.

As I clicked through the b&w portfolios from the conventions, I marveled at the gorgeous shots captured with precise depth of field and (I am assuming) available light.

Makes me hang my head in shame — and shake my fist in jealously.

And smile when I think I might eventually be able to capture similar shots.

(Hat tip: Robert Scoble.)

• Just clicked in to the debate: financial crisis, not foreign policy. #
• Hrm: both McCain & Obama talk like the president has a line item veto on spending bills. #
• #debate08, OK: I’m no fan of earmarks, but repeating how much Obamarama earmarked gets wearying #
• #debate08, Obamarama says US businesses pay effectively one of the lowest tax rates…!? #
• #debate08, gaaah! Obama wants to make college affordable for all children! No no no! Make it HARDER to get into college. #
• #debate08, everybody does NOT need to attend college. Plumbers! Electricians! Mechanics! Lots of kids are ill suited 4 college #
• #debate08, Obamarama is dropping his g’s — is that supposed to be endearing or folksy? #
• #debate08, McCain: spending freeze!?! #
• #debate08, Obamaram: increase spending on early childhood education? Gaah. Kids should be with their family preK. Teach the parents. #
• #debate08, McCain keeps saying “many many years” to highlight his experience… #
• #debate08, neither is willing to specify programs to drop because of the $700b bailout #
• #debate08, Obamarama blames Washington spending spree on Pres Bush; what, Congress didn’t vote on the budget bills? #
• #debate08, “I’m a maverick” has gone stale #
• #debate08, Obamarama goes back to “I opposed the war” instead of answering the question — still says nothing good from Iraq #
• #debate08, Obamarama keeps harping on the Iraqi govt surplus — the $$ isn’t equivalent to troop presence, not comparable #
• #debate08, hah! McCain caught Obamarama on the difference between tactic & strategy. Heh. #
• #debate08, Obamarama doesn’t present himself as understanding the situation in Waziristan & the border area btw Pakistan & Afghanistan #
• #debate08, McCain presents himself as much more knowledgeable on the area #
• #debate08, Obamarama restates that he would take out OBL on Pakistani soil w/wo Pakistani permission #
• #debate08, *coddled* Musharref?!? LOST legitimacy in Pakistan?!? He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. #
• #debate08, gaah! battle of the bracelets! decisions of war & peace should not be based on sentiment #
• #debate08, nuclear Iran an existential threat to Israel, destabilizing to region #
• #debate08, McCain: “league of democracies” to impose sanctios on Iran - outside the United Nations to get around Russia #
• #debate08, finally audience reaction to McCain’s restatement of Obama’s talking with Ahmadinejad #
• Just submitted bid letter to new client #
• @jaysolo, the strike tag has been deprecated by the W3 folks as of HTML 4.01 and is not supported in XHTML 1.0 Strict DTD #

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Leslie Carbone posts occasionally on writing well.

Here is an excerpt from her latest non-fiction writing advice:

So, your writing should be structured like this:

Lead.
Nutgraph.
Points.
Conclusion.

Read her entire post to find out what a “nutgraph” is. The post is a quick and useful intro that will improve your non-fiction writing.

Ms. Carbone just finished Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform, due to be publishd by Potomac in 2009.

• Loaf of potato bread on its second rising - should be baked in time to run errands at 11a #

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• watching video tutorials for Adobe Illustrator CS3… learning new software feels like all my fingers are broken #

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• Potato bread on its second rising in the kitchen - fresh bread for dinner! http://tinyurl.com/4qmddr #
• Stanley Kurtz on Obama’s relationship to Bill Ayers, in WSJ: http://tinyurl.com/3wbxtu & at NRO: http://tinyurl.com/4kx2uh #

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• Domenico Bettinelli passes along info on how to help Galveston Catholics after Ike, http://tinyurl.com/479j9y #
• Worth reading: Kevin Hassett on the Wall Street mess, http://tinyurl.com/4u9rnk #

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Tim Mercer and the editorial team of Smashing has pulled together a list of 25 websites devoted to macro photography:

Macro photography is the art of taking close-up pictures that reveal details which can’t be seen with the naked eye. For example, while we can see the fly on the wall, our eyes aren’t equipped to make out the fine details of the hairs on it’s face. This is where macro photography comes in. It gives us a glimpse into the world of the very small, which goes largely unnoticed by us as we hurriedly shuffle through our day.

(Emphasis in original.)

Here is a sampler of books on macro photography:

A couple of suggestions useful to professional writers, from widely divergent sources.

First, from Niccolina Soto at FastCompany, comes a suggestion to business people that they use good old-fashioned news releases to grow their business:

The purpose of the news release is to highlight what is interesting and newsworthy about your company or organization. This can include announcing product releases, new services, new grand opening or just re-introducing your established company to the world.

Today, you need to do more than just build a store and list your site on seach engines. Its all about effective PR and social networking to get your message across.

As a professional commercial writer, you should consider how to pitch this good news to local business clients.

Second, from Billy Goodnick at Garden Wise Guy, who recently attended a symposium for garden writers and learned the difference between “It’s all about me!” and “It’s all about my reader!”

The 60th Annual Garden Writers Association symposium started in earnest today. Right off the bat, Jack Hart, author of A Writer’s Coach: The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies That Work, dispensed some sage advice for writers who are getting caught up in the back draft of rapidly changing media markets, technologies and cultural tsunamis that are affecting the profession. I’m new at this and don’t think of writing as a way to make a living, but Jack’s remarks about adapting and staying nimble are right on the mark for this group. For the sake of brevity, I’ll quote his most memorable offering, admonishing the group to really understand what readers want: “People don’t want a drill; they want a hole.” Garden readers are looking for material that helps them satisfy a need and writers need to deliver.

(Link added to original.)

• @gapingvoid - welcome to SoCal — hope you brought cooler weather with you #

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Leica Range Finder Camera Buy From Art.com

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Mike Esterl provides historical background to the misery Leica finds itself in having “stuck too long with film technology.”

Digital Photography Review provides a look at an updated version of Leica’s M8 rangefinder digital camera. The new M8.2 model should be available soon. At an MSRP of £3390, it is aimed at rich amateurs or professional photographers.

After reading Mr. Esterl’s article, I am inclined to believe that only self-indulgent photographers would purchase a Leica.

An excerpt:

Henry Posner, communications director at Manhattan-based B&H Photo-Video, says Leica’s lenses are “spectacular” and its cameras “jewel-like.” But he notes that excellent cameras are available for hundreds instead of thousands of dollars. When it comes to younger comsumers, Leica typically is “not part of the conversation.”

That description makes me want to try one. The price tag ensures I’ll never own one.

• poking thru sitemeter’s new UI - some rpts in awfully small type for us geezer geeks #
• Weeding out affiliations & memberships; designers: your Great New Web Idea should have some way for users to request acct deactivation #
• sitemeter response sluggish - probably everybody upgrading & complaining! #
• The New Sitemeter is rolling back to The Old Sitemeter. Uh, huzzah? #

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• @lileks - your BLEAT link for ‘winged with a troll gun’ is missing the initial ‘h’ in ‘http:’ — love the party pic #

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But keeping the personal archive business. From an email to contributors:

Photographer Dennis Stock Buy From Art.com

We’re contacting you today with some unfortunate news - we will be closing The PhotoShelter Collection, effective October 10, 2008. Going forward, our team will refocus heavily on enhancing our original product, The PhotoShelter Personal Archive, which several thousand photographers use for bulletproof storage and online image sales directly to their own clients. Our financial position remains solid and we look forward to working with the photography community for years to come.

An excerpt from lessons learned at their blog:

1. Stock photography is a slow growing market dominated by a single player
There was a single moment for a company to capitalize in stock photography, and Getty took it. The use of stock imagery isn’t growing fast enough to create a displacement opportunity, and Getty is far too aggressive (and smart) to allow secondary players to displace them in any fashion.

2. Research Requests move too quickly for individuals to react in a timely fashion
We believed that using the crowd to fulfill research requests would give us an enormous advantage over the competition, but the nature of the industry is such that many research requests are due within a day, making it nearly impossible for non-fulltime stock photographers to react. Research requests are therefore relegated to what they’ve always been - namely the locating of existing images within an extant library that are ready for immediate licensing.

3. Buyers desire more diversity, but convenience (aka subscription deals) triumphs this desire
The largest consumers of stock photography are often locked into subscription deals, which makes it very difficult for them to consider alternate sources. Subscription deals are very bad for photographers, but great for business.

4. A crowd-source model for stock will likely never work
Licensing a photo is not a simple proposition. It is not like selling a widget. There are huge intellectual property issues, technical issues, and meta data issues that are difficult for even full-time pros to grasp. Companies that represent collections of stock photography have to build entire divisions of staff to deal with rights clearances and lawsuit that arise from improper clearance.

Read more information at their FAQ.

Rick Smolan, a photographer and driving force behind the Day in the Life… photography books, is interviewed by Robert Scoble:

(Hat tip: Scobleizer via Twitter.)

Smolan also gave a TED talk last December:

His latest book is Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the World.