First Time Boot up the 2008 MacPro3,1

Here are the updates:-

I got the dosdude1 program to patch the Apple installer.

I downloaded the Mojave installer from Apple and even verified good by the patcher program.  But when it actually ran it complained can't mount.  I reformatted the USB thumb drive one more time, downloaded the patcher program one more time but still no go.  I don't find lots of information other than you must have the wrong install program (from Apple?) or you need another 16GB USB thumb drive.  Oh no!  OK, so I tried using the patcher's program utility to download the mojave again, instead from Apple, I don't know where it was from but worth a try.  This was like the last resort as it would take some 30 minutes to download.  Hey this time it worked.  So it's a mystery to me.  As the original mojave is from Apple and checked ok even by the patcher program why it failed I don't know.

So the patcher program created this modified installer which doesn't discriminate against old hardware or something something so my MacPro3,1 from early 2008 can install mojave.

I checked the installers by eyeballing them they look the same to me.

My build isn't quite ready as I am still waiting for the power cable splitter to power the STA SSD which is going to be installed on the optical drive bay.  It doesn't come with any drive at all.  So I have no way of booting it up from any existing old OS.

Anyway, I tried to boot from the USB drive.  And the MP came alive!  Since the SSD is not ready so I can't really install mojave from scratch.  The odd thing is I have another 3.5" HDD in the 2nd bay, I wonder why it can't see it.  I hope I can install and boot from the lower bay of the 5.25" optical drive bay, that's the goal.

I guess I need to wait till Tuesday to find out.

Screwdriver Set

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.  Or in my case, if you have one screwdriver, all the screws look the same.

Most of the time this doesn't work.

I keep learning this the hard way.  I don't know how many times I screwed up because of using the wrong tool, to be exact, some dollar shop screwdriver, the wrong size one to unscrew and screw.  Needless to say, the experience has been frustrating and counter productive.

I think I must have told myself to buy a nice set of precision screwdrivers a dozen times.  But that never happened until today.

I have checked out Wiha and Wera.  Since I need the good ones.  Alas, the price isn't all too bad but they just don't have the right pieces in one set.  In the end, after spending the entire day looking, I opt for the ifixit set for a whopping $59.99.  I was just too tired to look any further.

I don't open my computers too often as I don't do this for a living.  I do this like once a year when I need to replace the harddrive when it runs out of space.  A few years from now I guess chances are all the old upgradable Macs would be too outdated to mess with and all repairs or upgrades would be impossible except to the real professionals.  I wonder what will happen to OWC or Macsales or other Mac parts resellers.

For the foreseeable future I think I will still be upgrading 2 or 3 Macs.

https blogspot

I wonder why blogspot doesn't automatically goes https instead it allows http.

It's just weird something like this from Google.

Of course, I don't discount I don't know what I am doing or talking.

UPDATE:
Well, it's under basic setting, https redirect.  Blogspot provides this as an option.  And I thought it's a must.  Anyway it as an option is good I suppose.  I just thought it should be by default.  Anyway.  Good enough for me.

Nikkor 20-35

This lens has to be retired for the time being.  I simply don't want to spend the money on repairing it.  I didn't bother to make the trip to the shop to let them check it out.  I predict it's anywhere from $200 to $400 to repair it.

I will stick with my Nikon 16-35 f/4 for now.

Stripped Screw

I swear I am going to get the best set of screwdrivers.

A stripped screw turns out to the the biggest hurdle for my upgrade.

Sad.

Not touching it now.

MacPro3,1

Sometimes projects find me.  Not the ones that are you know earn me any money.  But the kind that are quite fun to work with but would burn a small hole or two in my wallet.

A friend of mine gave me this giant cheese grater or otherwise known as Mac Pro.  It's a 2008 model with 32GB of RAM but no HD whatsoever.  I am not currently having lots of disposable income so I have to savage whatever parts possible to make it run again.

I need a keyboard, a wired one at least in the beginning.  I have a PS/2 keyboard ... was thinking about getting an adapter for PS/2 to USB--this is really low I know.  Then I remember I actually have a Dell Microsoft keyboard Fung gave me long time ago.

USB mouse, which I have.
Install macOS Mojave
macOS  Mojave Patcher
2.5" 240GB SSD from before

To Buy list:
A DVI male to male cable
16 GB USB thumb drive
2.5" to 3.5" adapter

To Buy Later:
WiFi and Bluetooth module
more 3.5"HD
Bluetooth keyboard
Bluetooth mouse
PCIe card for USB3 ports

Nikkor AF-S 24-85 f/3.5~4.5 G

This was my first AF lens, bought long after I got my Nikon F5.  For a long time I just used MF lenses on my Nikon F5 adamantly.

I only used this lens occasionally and for a short period of time as I seldom took pictures and I discovered "pro" lenses.  I bought it from Canoga camera out in California.  I still remember the time I did my research on buying an AF lens and the moment and whereabouts when I placed the order, weird.  Back then I shot film and I was happy with the lens granted my point of reference was 4x6 prints and I must be in awe how the AF-S worked.

Now I "have to" revisit this lens again.  My pro grade 20-35 suffered from a fall and is out of commission.  I don't think I ever shot any digital using this 24-85.  I wonder if I shoot at f/8 or f/11, does it even matter?  When the lighting situation is difficult I think a f/2.8 helps or if you dig the f/2.8 or larger aperture rendition.  In terms of build, for me, as long as the mount is metal I am kind of OK with the rest.  All lenses broke from fall and impact, plastic or metal.  Sometimes I believe a lens shade helps alleviate the impact better than any metal construction.  That being said, I appreciate any well made lenses that last for decades.

Believe it or not, this lens together with its dedicated lens shade were Made in Japan.  The LC-67 lens cap was Made in Thailand.

Both Ken Rockwell and Moose Peterson raved about this lens if you ever need any affirmation of your purchase.  It's very interesting to read how Moose marvelled the lens cap LC-67 as I guess back then the squeeze-in lens cap was a rarity and the LC-67 was quite possibly among the firsts if not the first to use this squeeze-in mechanism.

S, M, L against numbered sizing

When I see S M L kind of sizing I shake my head a little.  Especially if the outfit in question is priced at a fairly high price like a $600-700 leather jacket.

I take it it can have XS, S, M, L, XL and for numbered sizing 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44.  So are they same?  I really don't know.  I tend to think when one uses SML sizing, it's just a bit unrefined and for lower priced goods.

Many if not most manufacturers still not disclosing what those letters or numbers mean exactly even for those selling online.  I think that's crazy.  Does 42 mean the jacket is 42 inches pit to pit or it means it's supposed to fit body with a chest size 42 inches?  Even for those sites that provide a size chart it's not clear to me what 42 means.  I wonder how can online retailers get away with actual measurements.  Some sites say true to size, what does it even mean?  Just give out the true garment measurements already.

I feel like eBay sellers do a much better job in general.

AF DC-NIKKOR 135mm f/2D

I don't know if Nikon USA has any rule in naming or calling its lenses but this is how it's listed on Nikon USA as of today.

So much ink has been spilled on this lens ... and I am going to spill a bit more.

This lens has a built-in hood that I have no idea how it's supposed to work, does it lock, do you just pull it out, are you supposed to turn it, clockwise or anticlockwise or something something.  I really have no idea.  Sometimes it just seems to be somewhat stuck.

The lens has an aperture ring.  What's old is new again.  I just read the new Canon R or more precisely the new RF lenses (not rangefinder by the way) has a ring that can be programmed to work as aperture.  Didn't they do that in the beginning of the time?  This lens provides defocus control meaning you can control the out of focus look either in front or behind the focused subject or you can simply leave the defocus alone and leave it in the neutral position.  The thing is if you need to work fast and you need to change the aperture, chances are you might forget to change the defocus setting following the change of the aperture.  For example you set you f/stop at f/2 and you set defocus at R2, to match the f/2 aperture you set.  Somewhere along the way, you want to shoot at f/2.8 but hey you are too busy composing and whatnot and you just left the defocus setting unchanged at R2 insteal of R2.8 as you preferred.  Not a huge deal in real world situation but psychologically it makes you feel sloppy and incompetent.  Unless I have ample time I would leave the defocus in neutral position.

Is AF fast?  This is relative and I don't have any scientific way to say one way or another.  Given that it's a prime D lens, so I assume it's not that fast by modern AF-S standard.  However, I use it to shoot velodrome cycling and I don't think it's bad or unuseable.  I tend to blame myself if I miss focus.

One thing I have to mention, some say chromatic aberration is not a problem ... I say it is.  Again it's relative.  When I shoot with this lens I make sure I check enable lens profile and remove chromatic aberration in Light Room.  On the other hand, when I use the relative modern 16-35 and 70-200 I never notice any chromatic aberration at all.  I am not saying CA shows all the time, it rears its ugly head on edges where light and dark color meet.  Sometimes when you shoot you just go I can be bothered with oh I can't use this lens or that lens because I am shooting back light with high contrast or lots of whites on the edges.  The lens basically gives a purple halo around the subject.  I suspect if I use Nikon's software it may clean up better.

135mm at f/2 is pretty shallow depth of field.  It can work to your aesthetic as much as against it.  But you have that option to deploy the lens at f/2 should you want to.  Modern cameras have astonishing high ISO performance so shooting at f/2 or f/1.4 or f/0.95 is more of a preference than a necessity.

Shooting with fixed focal length can be challenging and oddly satisfying as if you want to challenge and hence prove yourself in composition.

ImageMagick

I am a fan.  I know about less than 1% of its features but enough to admire the software and all that comes with it.

Tried to upgrade to 7.  What a challenge.  My MacPorts was outdated.  I think I installed IM via Ports.  So I tried to do it via Ports once again.   When Ports was done upgraded or actually migrated to High Sierra I was all set to upgrade to the latest greatest IM, sure I guess I could have used a much older version but.   Alas, the Ports port was still 6.9.  After going through an entire day, I was back to step 1.  I was thinking to use Home Brew to update, now I finally had enough.  I updated my Brew, not a migration mind you.   So nothing too abstruse to follow except to remove a couple of paths.  I was on 7 but the display program doesn't work.  Instead of tweaking tweaking and tweaking the path, I found another guy saying just to uninstall and brew install with X11 explicitly.  And it finally works.  Everything.  I tested my old scripts and it works too.

I modified my script to do Instagram as well.  I know so little IM and shell scripting so the script is kind of a patch work, but it works somewhat.

if [ ! -d "./ig" ]; then mkdir "./ig"; fi

for j in *.JPG
do
echo " ... instagramming $j"
test=`convert $j -format "%[fx:(w/h>1)?1:0]" info:`
if [ $test -eq 1 ]; then
convert "$j" \
    -resize 1080x566 \
    -background white \
    -gravity center \
    -extent 1080x566 "./ig/ig$j"
  else
    convert "$j" \
        -resize 1080x1350 \
        -background white \
        -gravity center \
        -extent 1080x1350 "./ig/ig$j"
fi
done


IM 7 uses 'magick' instead of 'convert' but convert apparently still works.

I need to shore up my shell scripting skill.

I purposely distracted myself installing IM yesterday.  I lost GIMP when I migrated MacPorts.  Oh well.  I don't really use it anymore as since I pay for LR.

UPDATE: 8/28/2018
I corrected the script, the portrait mode should be 1080x1350, wxh.

HTML

I miss the simpler days when HTML is just HTML with hyperlinks.  It's all about content about what it is.  But of course, CSS comes along and ruins it all.  Wow, I want to look pretty, so CSS.  I think 99% of CSS is bullshit.

Schott

I have a weakness for Schott.

Last year I drove all the way to their warehouse sales in New Jersey.  Alas, don't expect any fire sales because there aren't none.  I kind of expected that.  They aren't going to discount their leather goods.  Other stuff yes.  But not so much of their flagship items.  You are stilling looking at $600 leather jacket or more.

Years ago I got my no model number car coat from them in Soho, could be Canal Jeans, I am not sure.  The front has two pockets with flaps.  I use them too often as hand warmers which cause the flaps out of shape.  I don't know if there is a fix to it or if there is a fix that's free of charge or monetary remedy.  It's a minor thing like the flap is pointing up.  Other that that the coat is in good shape minus some very normal wear and tear.  The most disgusting thing is that I don't dry or professional clean my leathers.  I think the price is prohibitive and there is no convenience location to do that locally.

I have two 141s.  Don't ask me why.  I just do.  One is more matte or less glossy than the other.  Once is cut better at the sleeve than the other.  The 141 is a very clean cut jacket.  I bought the first one around 2007 I think.  I kid myself that I would sell one but I never did.  Size 44 seems a bit too big.

eBay is a very dangerous place, it burns holes in my wallet.

I came across this jacket that's not even marked as a Schott and hence priced not like a Schott.  I wasn't going to ask the seller hey is it a Schott that you're selling.  But the embossed buttons clearly say so.  The jacket I think is from the 1970s.  It looks good especially considered the price.  I can't help myself.  It's a 125 with the lining missing.  The pocket is very clean so you see the prior owner or owners don't use the pocket often or not often enough to soil or get them out of shape, kind of like what I did to my car coat.

My latest Schott is a 740N leather jacket.  Schott calls it pea jacket, at least on the label, instead of pea coat.  I find it a bit odd.  But hey what do I know?  A brand new one is now called 140 and fetches somewhat close to $800 quids--they just call it 740N if it's made of a blend of wool and nylon.  By the way, now I only shop used on eBay if I were to buy any Schott, the retail price on new ones is just too much for me.  Sometimes the current item is too much of a fashion item rather than the real thing.  Not that I ride any bike at all.  But if I pretend I'd like to stick with the real thing, the original thing.  There has been a number of manufacturers who supply peacoats to the Navy over the years.  Latest I read the Navy is going to stop peacoat as standard/free issue to new recruits, rather they need to pay for it if they want one.  Ouch!

a few things i like

there are a few things i like

leather jackets
cameras
lenses
computers, except pc

PROPAC CABLE NX problem

This is a cable that gave me problem.

When I got my PROPAC PB960, I opted for the Nikon version, that's the cable is for Nikon speedlight, in my case it's the Nikon SB-800.

But that cable was iffy, sometimes it worked but most of the time it didn't.  It took me quite some time to notice that.  Because, I didn't use the SB-800 often enough to notice.  The SB-800 requires 4AA batteries inside even when it's to be powered by the PB960 (the 4AA is then used for the display and other functions I guess), meaning when I am on TTL and has enough ambient and it doesn't draw 100% power I wouldn't notice the difference even it's coming off from the 4AA.  But finally I did notice the slow cycling time when the 4AA batteries depleted its power.

I don't have have other Nikon SB-800 flashes or other Nikon flashes that accept external power laying around for me to test if it's the flash or the cable or the pac unit.  But I figure in all likelihood it's the cable.  I hope it's not the PB960 itself of the SB-800.  The pac has no problem passing power to my Sunpak 120J with another cable at all and the SB-800 seems work fine.

Finally I got a hold of my friend who also owns a Nikon SB-800.  Same problem.  Sometimes it works but most of the time it doesn't.

I took a chance I ordered another NX cable on eBay.  I could have bought some quantum or paramount cable which are supposedly better made but more expensive even used, about $50 each.  The PROPAC PB980, at least the power cable is based on the quantum spec, that's my understanding.

Actually I wrote to Godox via email about the cable but of course nobody replied.  I also wrote to the original eBay seller I got it from with the pac, but to no avail.

The eBay cable came, it's practically new.  It is somewhat different from the one that came with the pac.  The new one has a shorter neck and has no sleeve and fits much snug than the original.  The original one is by no means loose when plugged into the SB-800.

no good cable with the sleeve removed just to show the neck

D810 with the NX cable attached that works.

This NX cable doesn't come with a sleeve, the 3 insertion prong is the same length though.  This one works.

SB-800, the left most hole has no protruding pin there, it's not broken it's just like that.

No good NX cable with the sleeve at the neck

the cable has 3 prongs like so.  The cable that works is very tight.  So maybe it's better made more on spec.

With the new cable, the SB-800 actually draws power from the pac as the cycling time is much faster even when the 4AA is low in juice.  The ready light on the Pac actually turns itself off as it recharges itself between flashes--I was doing a full power 1/1 manual flash on the SB-800 to make sure maximum power is used.

I hope the cable stays good.

I saw on YouTube there were similar issues with the cable, and some people suggest to turn on the pac then the flash unit in that order.  I did but still iffy.  So my experience is the cable is faulty perhaps not up to spec.  The other cable that works has some minor changes as it fits much tighter.  The absence of a sleeve probably has nothing to do with it, it could be even because it's a used cable but unlikely as the neck is much shorter to accommodate a sleeve like the original cable that I have had.

ROBERTSONS JELLY

Hot doesn't come to describe the summer of Hong Kong.  The muggy weather makes sane persons murderous and easily turns any murderous lunatics into serial killers.

To palliate the stifling heat and to keep me sane, my mom used to make Robertsons' jelly.

By chance I found them still stocked in a Hong Kong supermarket.  Can you even not like it?  I don't think you can even if you try.  Look at that cartoon strawberry jovial smile, it harks back to an innocent time when summer was lazy and idyllic at least in memory and when artificial ingredients or sugar or gluten were of no particular concern to anybody.  I particularly like the good old Hong Kong translation of the word strawberry.  It is idiosyncratic and uniquely Hong Kong.  Please do not change Robertsons.

自由題

An open topic is simultaneously a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because one has the absolute freedom to write whatever topic one chooses.  A curse as one has to come up with a topic all by oneself.  When you are assigned a topic, if you don't do a good job you can blame somebody else.  If you choose your own topic and it turns out not as good as you want it to be, you have nobody but yourself to blame.  If I ever live in a totalitarian society where my life is defined, planned and arranged from cradle to grave and I can easily blame the society for my failures.  But does it even matter?

The Unbearable Lightness of Being was one of the first movies and books I saw and read when I arrived in the US.  (The very first movie I saw here was "The Terrorizers" directed by Edward Yang and starring Cora Miao.)   The themes like light and heavy, sex and love, fate and freewill, eternal return and YOLO are well explored.  I wish I could live a life that is light, no need being a brain surgeon or a womanizer or both, like the character Tomas; and definitely not the war nor the hardships that follow.  Tomas started out light but in the end totally domesticated.  He was weighed down by the war and Tereza who clung to him like a piece of Cling wrap.  I don't know if that's just life or what.

Sweden was pretty much defined by ABBA until the world or I discovered Stieg Larsson.  Or John Ajvide Lindqvist who penned "Let the Right One In" in 2004 and later wrote the film adaption in 2008.  The story is at once bleak and beautiful both in words and in moving images.  Instead of wholesome ABBA like characters, many characters are flawed and despicable.  One of the two protagonists, Eli is cursed with eternal return for she is forever stuck in her twelve-year old self since two centuries ago.  Often time she smellS rancid.  The other one is Oskar, a boy who is incontinent and uses a "pissball" to soak up his pee so nobody knows he pisses his pants.  Oskar is the perennial easy target for bullying.  Together they become fast friends and more.  It's hard to like them but even harder not to like them despite them being serial killers.  As it turns out I am not a big fan of ABBA.

Anamorphic Lens Adapter for Mobile Phones

Moondog Labs

Beastgrip Pro

Moment

Moondog is the only company that has stock available all or most of the time, selling at $175.  It seems like it's iPhones only.  Many models are iPhone model specific except one that is phone agnostic as its interface is the 37mm screw thread.

Beastgrip Pro is more like on and off when it comes to availability, more like off most of the time; also asking for $175.  It's based on the 37mm screw thread so it's phone agnostic but pretty mount specific.

Moment is on pre-order.  The listed price is lower than $175 but the lens mount is baked to only mate with its own proprietary case.  If you've already invested in Moment or you think this closed system approach is not a problem then by all means.

In terms of alignment between the phone's lens and the anamorphic adapter, I believe the Moondog iPhone specific model and the Moment would probably give the most convenient, accurate and consistent alignment.  How difficult to align the lenses?  Not too difficult but you still need to do it if it's just a 37mm interface.

Red Hook Crit Brooklyn 11

I felt somewhat disoriented as there was some change to the course.  I felt like I was always on the wrong side of the fence.  I felt like I was always trapped at the wrong spot.  There wasn't a lot of mobility from one to another spot.

I didn't take any pictures of the qualifying heats.  I was busy taking portraits inside the terminal.  I guess it wasn't such a bad idea as I don't want to lug around my equipment under the sun.  I was being lazy for sure.

I still used what I have been using all these years.  I was tempted to rent or even buy a new D750 as my oldie D700 is getting long in its teeth.  AI coupling ring got sticky and becomes problematic if I ever used a manual focus lens or even AF lenses other than the f/2.8 as the ring got sticky and won't automatically rotate according to the notch.  In any event I basically stuck with my good old friends of lenses the 70-200 and the 16-35 and yeah the new addition 135 f/2 DC which definitely is not the kind of lens that provides convenience.

I shot the "portraits" with my Sunpak 120J at I think 1/4 power and at f/8.  I was thinking of shooting at f/11 but somehow it didn't quite work out.  I know it doesn't make sense.  But when I am in the field.  I just need to roll with it I don't have all day to adjust.  I don't think the 16-35 is the "ideal" focal length.  But is there ever an ideal focal length?  I doubt it.  I imagine the 24-70 would provide the greatest convenience for this kind of shot.  The grass is always greener somewhere.  Or the poor man's version could be simply the 50mm f/1.8 or the 35-70 f/2.8.  My ideal shot is just below shoulder, above the knees or full body length with the bike.  The 16-35 helps in full length but I would need to get really close for above knee shots and below shoulder is not even possible or the image would get distorted too much to my liking.  But I shoot what I have and adjust accordingly or rent.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10157479883240200.1073742101.787280199&type=1&l=772ef4a303

Life Choices

When you aren't going to buy another big @ss item, you buy some cheapo accessories.  Just so you buy something.  That's the thing with photography, you can enjoy it just buying small items, like lens hoods, filters, sync cables, color gels.  You don't need to buy a $6000 lens or a %6000 camera.  Of course you can enjoy it by actually taking pictures.  Better still print it out on paper and even better, frame it and hang it up somewhere on the wall.

DVD, Handbrake, OS X, Rip

Do people watch DVD nowadays?  I know I do.  And if you check out the library there are still plenty out there on the shelf.

Do people rip DVD nowadays?  I know I do.

I haven't used Handbrake for a long time.  And finally I got it updated and not even updated I even installed the nightly build.  I feel like I am so advanced even I don't know half of what I am doing.  I wasn't going to install the nightly build, it's just the prod has a known bug that doesn't allow preview which is something I like.

I am not a fan of ripping DVD except for scholarly reason like why not.

Handbrake didn't complain so I thought I was able to rip DVD just fine, except the result came out severely pixelated and the sound was all wrong.  I have VLC installed.  So I thought, maybe I have the setting wrong as reading the Google search results indicate once you have VLC installed you should be fine.  Also, I thought the decryption thing is a binary thing like if you can't decrypt then you simply can't not with bad rip or pixelated rip, or so I thought.  I played with the settings a bit and still lousy results.  So that shook my belief that the DVD was decrypted when ripped.  I viewed the log and it did say can't decrypt DVD.

Another trip to Google.

https://www.howtogeek.com/102886/how-to-decrypt-dvds-with-hardbrake-so-you-can-rip-them/

I have Homebrew installed long time ago so getting a package isn't a big deal.

at the Terminal

brew install libdvdcss

this installed the libdvdcss

Now Handbrake can rip the DVD to your or my heart's desire.

Now another reason to buy more storage or even a NAS because of DVDs.

Life Choices

All I care about is what camera or lenses to get.

Life Choices ...

In the world of iPhone cinematography, the anamorphic lens is kind of the king.

The Moondog lab made them first, and it's the only company that have them in stock.  Beastgrip Pro started their version some time last year and they were quickly sold out and now out of stock.  Moment just joined the party and is in Kickstarter mode.  The former two price their anamorphic adapter at $175, which is kind of a steep price for a lens adapter but at the same time dirt cheap as far as anamorphic is concerned.  So it really depends on one's perspective on things.  Moment, the new kid to the mobile phone anamorphic is geared to stir things up by lowering the price, their first batch kickstarter was priced at $99 but no longer available.  I don't fully understand all those funky pricing anyway.  But the ball park is they are priced lower than the competition.  Over time hopefully all of them would come down in price.

Life Choices ...

D5, D4s, D3s . . .

If price is not a concern, then D5.  But of course everything is driven by price.

When people ask me "What camera should I buy?"  I don't know your economic profile or more importantly your psychologic profile.  I know what I want but I can never suggest what you should get.  My decision is based largely on irrational thinking.  So don't listen to me if your decision is based on fact and logic.  My own camera and lens buying decision is utterly irrational.  It doesn't matter I am usually armed with facts my decision is still largely driven by irrational thinking and passion.

Life Choices

Life is about making hard choices.
105mm f/2 DC, 135mm f/2 DC, or 85mm f/1.4 . . . .

I Hope Summer Never Comes

I got the fascination with summer but I am not a fan.

Mirrorless

I read mirrorless is all the rage and is the future.

If I live long enough, I probably will belong to that future.  But that future is probably not soon enough as Nikon hasn't come up with its own mirrorless yet.

I am a man that constantly look for distractions.  SLR has decades of bodies, lenses and myriads of accessories to meet and exceed my needs or wants.  Mirrorless, I don't know but I really don't think so.  Most old Nikkor lenses from eons ago can still mount on the newest bodies without much of a compromise; a manual focus lens sure can be mounted on the flagship D5.  Nikon as far as I am concerned is still actively developing its SLR line both cameras and lenses.  The last professional film SLR model was the F6 which actually seemed a step back from its predecessor F5 as the F6 lacks an integrated vertical grip.  Perhaps Nikon saw the digital evolution coming when F6 was in development.  We have the D5 and perhaps the D5s is in the offing.  Would history repeat itself?  Would there be a D6 that mark the end of the professional digital SLR?  Nikon may roll out the mirrorless in parallel with the SLR.  But probably would only call it a M1 if it's deemed of professional caliber.  Canon and Nikon, the bellwethers of the SLR world, stand to lose the most one way or the other if mirrorless turns out really to be the future or a big trunk of the future.  Meanwhile, SONY is really steamrolling in that mirrorless space with models coming out like every few months.

Red Sparrow (2018)

Red Sparrow is the latest female fronted Hollywood thriller with Lawrence playing the title character, a red sparrow or a spy trained and owned by the state, whose trade craft includes the time honored carnal art of seduction.  I have high expectations.

The movie begins with great promise: rapid intercuts between Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) dancing on stage having her femur broken and her counterpart, Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) evading a car chase on foot.  Dominika is a natural and her uncle Vanya Ergovo (Matthia Schonaerts) sees it.  All he does is to nudge her a bit and makes her woke of her hidden talents.  He tips her off her injury is not a result of occupation hazard.  While still on the mend and limping, Dominika takes out the adulterous couple who ended her ballet career with no holds barred rage and violence.  Perhaps her career ending injury is a blessing in disguise,  Jennifer Lawrence or Dominika Egorova is just too well endowed to look like a ballerina.  The first job and then the formal training follow.  Dominika is sent to a "whore school" run by the hooded eyes Matron (Charlotte Rampling) who is cadaverous in appearance and pithy in teaching.  The cadets wear drab wrap skirts, seemingly stolen from Diane von Furstenberg, that are easy to put on and more importantly easier to take off.  Like a good student she excels.   She gets her first overseas gig before she officially finishes her training thanks to General Korchnoi (Jeremy Irons) who is just cadaverous but likes to enjoy putting on more rouge to look more flushed than Matron, which of course only makes him look ridiculous, even more so than his Russian accented English--in the world of Red Sparrow, English is the lingua franca.  Dominika is sent to Budapest to lure her American counterpart so as to root out the mole deep within the Russian intelligence . . . and so she begins her journey as a full fledged red sparrow.

After hiring Lawrence, quite possibly the highest paid female star, the movie just runs out of budget.  So there are hardly any actions, stunts or special effects to speak of.  In one truly potentially R-rated deserving scene where human skin is shaved off, the camera is no where near where the action is and the audience is spared with that gruesome awesomeness because there is no budget for special effects.  The trailer is pretty much all there is, but with far better pacing than the actual movie which at times feels interminable and meandering; it clocks in two hours nineteen minutes.  This red sparrow has great potentials but does not fly high or far.

UNTITLED

News was delivered by butchers and fish mongers in the wet market a day's late but with meat inside.  It was a halcyon time when people recycled without recycling.  The flank steak or red snapper was wrapped in old newspaper tied with a strand of salt water grass.  That's how I discovered news.  Sometimes the section was salacious and often times the section was just news.  Either case I wasn't complaining, not to someone who wielded some cleaver for a living.

"Can I get that section?  Yeah that, yeah that section.   No. That one!"  I don't think so.

UNTITLED

How I read the news stays the same--I still use my eyes and corrective lenses, which, over the years, have evolved excitingly with the much anticipated presbyopia and floaters thrown in rather than just the usual ailments like myopia and astigmatism.

In terms of sources, it's the fake news extraordinaire The New York Times alright.  I have autopay setup so they can just take my money and leave me alone.  I pay and I shall receive, it's always the kind of ideal transactional relationship I aim for.  Most other news especially those trending or shared on FB are genuinely fake news and I take them with a grain of salt and regard them as mostly entertainment, loosely speaking.  For Hong Kong news I just go to Ming Pao, which has changed some what.  One thing I find quite interesting or mildly disturbing is they still put entertainment or show biz news under the section called OL section.  Does it stand for office lady?  I feel marginalized.

News deliverance and consumption have changed a great deal.  What used to be daily dead tree publication has changed to round-the-clock breaking news via the screen--this is how people got hyper tension and heart attack.  A suited man reading and doing origami folds with the Times on his morning commute is a rare sight nowadays.  That suited man's position probably got off-shored to India or Poland.  I still have some of my paper delivered but empirically I don't even think the paper is touched let alone being read, it got picked up, idled and then chucked to recycles.  Sad.  Most news are consumed via a myriad of screens.

The only paper that can't be digitized is the toilet paper.  Long live the toilet paper.

Untitled.

"I'd rather be where I am than in a grave."

Beastgrip Anamorphic

I can't find any review comparing the Beastgrip anamorphic and the OG moondog lab anamorphic.  Both are selling $175.  But if you were to buy the moondog then you need an adaptor for the Beastgrip.  I don't fully understand why but that's what moondog says.  I am surprised I can't find anything comparing the two.  I am easily surprised.  Most if not all reviews on the Beastgrip anamorphic are pretty much from the company, I don't even think there is a third party review on this.  I imagine the clip-on version of the moondog should have the best alighment as it's clip on, there is no misalignment to fiddle about the vertical and horizontal.  But then since the clip on is pretty much phone specific, so about every two years you are faced with the planned obsolesce, you upgrade the phone you most likely need to update the anamorphic adaptor as well.  Most people aren't made of money.  The screw-on adaptor makes a bit more sense if you are good at aligning the adaptor to the phone's lens.  I am speaking like a true desktop phone videographer as I have absolutely zero experience using the anamorphic adaptor.

記一件發生於2017年的開心事

12/15/2017

Dear Diary,

Just checked my bank account.  My paycheck is there.  Right on time, like clockwork.  I don't know all these freaking deductions and whatnots mean.  But whatever.  Last year I was like I forgot to submit something something like withholding not enough city tax or whatever, I ended up paying penalty, WTF!

12/16/2017

Diary

!!@#$@#$ Verizon FIOS, the set top box kept rebooting itself.  I need to watch my MTV.  Or CNN, I enjoy the anchors' incredulous stuttering when conveying indignations.  Called Verizon, dude sent me a new box via next day FedEx.  Can't fault the dude.  Installed the new box.  Looked like it's working fine.  Then next day, same shit happened again.   Decided to wait to try again in the evening.  Holy moly it worked.  I could never figure out how Verizon works I bet they don't either.  Just send the dude a new box!  I like that approach.

The end is near.   What have I done?  What have I not done?  The perennial question that never yields a satisfactory answer.  I am not getting any younger.  I am running out of battery.

12/30/2017

X:  Sir, can you confirm your phone number?
Y:  Can I ask you something?  Will people actually call me?  I've always put down my number but nobody ever called me?  Will you really call me?
X: Sir, is this the number we can reach you?
Y: Yes.

12/31/2017

Paycheck in the bank!  Yes!
Hello?
This is Dr. Bernstein's office ...
Thank you.

He carefully crossed his legs so his right thigh was resting on his left thigh.  He thought this was a good year.  The doctor called.  Or the doctor's office called.  He placed his hand over his heart, contemplating the new year that was to come in a few hours.



 

我家最舒服的一角

The present is unsavory, the future is unfathomable and most people aren't Karl Lagerfeld.  We can all use some magical nostalgia where terror, real or imaginary, was in a distant past and exists in the confine of the screen and we are safe in the comfort of our own place having a good scare without all the nasty consequences.

A Legacy of Spies is the latest addition to John Le Carré oeuvre.  The term legacy takes on a negative connotation just like the word classic, iPod Classic, legacy software, anyone?  It becomes an euphemism for anything that is dated, past its prime but for some pathetic reason still hanging around.  The protagonist Peter Guillam is one of those legacies.  The past has come back to haunt him, his mentor George Smiley and the Circuit as a whole: they face legal challenges from the offspring of the deceased whose deaths were a direct or indirect consequence of his botched operation.  Legacy revisits that past with immaculate details, mainly in the form of memos and letters, and low key suave just like Smiley.  Legacy can be seen as part of a series as the characters appear in Le Carré previous works.  With Legacy, Le Carré may really retire Smiley as his spook exemplary for good.  It's a loss but all good things must end.

I am always suspect of movies or shows that make children as their main characters.  I think it's just an easy way to gain sympathy and is borderline exploitative.  Spielberg's E.T.:  the Extra Terrestrial is the pinnacle of this kind of success or exploitation.  There is no doubt in my mind, Netflix's Stranger Things is in the same vein as E.T.   You have a suburban setting in yesteryear with a bunch of adorable kids running around riding bikes.  The similarity is uncanny and is as much as a homage as it's formulaic.  That being said I like the series.  Above anything else, it's about unconditional and unwavering friendship we yearn for but almost forgot.  What's not to like?  And of course Eggo too.  The show has catapulted some young actors into early stardom: the star Millie Bobby Brown graces the cover of Interview magazine, and resuscitated the fading career of Winona Ryder whom I think is just being herself in the show.  With great success comes more seasons and episodes and the danger of overstaying its welcome with sub par material.  Super natural sci-fi sometimes is just a polite way of saying male bovine excrement.

Mindhunter is one long movie in episodes.  Since The Silence of the Lambs, serial killers have gone mainstream and it's a dime a dozen.  What sets Mindhunter apart and above is the stunning visual and the nuanced multilayered audio.  The opening sequence really set things up and foretells what it is to come visually and aurally.  Mindhunter is the story of the nascent Behavioral Science Department of the FBI in the 70s.  The production is charming and the dialogue is smart.  Wendy Carr, the psychology professor played by Anna Torv has such an inflection that I imagine is what East Coast intelligentsia sounds like.  One thing I don't quite understand is why agent Holden Ford wears a double vented suit jacket.  I think it's too showy and European a sartorial choice for an FBI agent unless Ford is someone who likes to play against type, which I don't think is the intent of the show.

Back in the 70s and early 80s there was no pervasive computing but pervasive smoking.  Both shows are like fifty minute cigarette commercials without the actual commercials.  I certainly prefer any Russian intrigue limited to a page in the novel and sociopaths in the big house than in the White House.  The reality is just too much to bear.  Ignorance is bliss and then you die.

Coffee or tea

"Coffee or tea?"

I put the cup on the tray and the air attendant poured the tea into the cup.  Not a drop was spilled.

I dunked the cookies into the tea to soften their blow to my rotten teeth.  It was a madeleine moment.  It was tea from a thermal flask, very proletariat, very matter of fact, just like breathing.  You finished your dinner you poured yourself a glassful of tea whose name remained unknown whose quality unquestioned.  It was just tea brewed in a thermal flask.  It wasn't until much later that I found out there were different names to different teas.  During an overnight camping trip, two of my friends were sophisticated and urbane beyond my imagination.  They brewed tea at night.  Not just any nameless tea in a dreary thermal flask but tea that has a name, an English name no less.  The Lipton tea, in its gauze little bags of glory, ever so sophisticated, together with milk and sugar, soothingly and warmly transitioned me from a child to a bona fide young adult that night.

"Coffee or tea?"

I put the cup on the tray and he deftly poured coffee into the cup.  He was a professional.  I skipped the granular sugar and just added the single serving milk to complete the beverage.  Sugar is like poison in today's ever quest for healthier diet.  A coffee is a coffee is a coffee so long as it's hot but not scorching hot.  The baby behind me started to cry again.  It didn't bother me, not more so than air travel or people who seemed very bothered by baby crying.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you."

At my age, I only come home for either a good reason or a bad reason.

PhotoPlus Expo 2017

I can't remember when I started to go to Photo expo.  There used to be a PC Expo but it's long gone.  When I do something long enough it takes on some extra meaning.  Look at the pictures I took years ago, I could really see the changes over time, not just the industry but myself.  Kodak used to give out free film and then they stopped and then they didn't even bother to show up because they bankrupted or something.  Fuji used to give away film as well.  But they don't bother anymore.  Now they shift their products more on cameras and lenses at least at the expo.  Nikon, Canon and now Sony are the big three in the expo.  Sony is like making some big move in the expo, the space got bigger or at least as big as Canon and Nikon.

Blade Runner and some random thoughts

With the passage of time and the filtration of memory, Blade Runner(1982) has acquired certain mythical sheen in the annals of sci-fi film making.  Blade Runner 2049(2017) further cements and reaffirms the original Blade Runner's inimitable status.

I saw Blade Runner in a theatre when it was first released in 1982.  I was a child (and a pathological liar).  Then many years later in the late 80s I sort of saw it again in the City of Light.  Unbeknownst to me, Deckard became French speaking, a language so foreign to me it might as well be Martian.  I am not sure if I sat through the entire movie listening to Deckard speak French, if I did I wouldn't understand a word uttered from his throat.

I didn't seek out to watch it again until recently when I found out there is a sequel in the offing, I am very susceptible to marketing.  I sought out some pieces of the 1982 Blade Runner on YouTube and then finally in one piece on on-demand what they call the director's or is it the final cut?

Here are some random thoughts.

The cinematic universe of Blade Runner is as futuristic as it's familiar--there are flying vehicles, pay phones with video screens, people continue to hate their job and yearn for retirement; smoking and drinking are common though the former is much restricted in public space than it's depicted on screen.  The cinematic visuals set high water mark for future neo-noirs.  Much ink has been spilled on K's coat in BR 2049.  It's a nice coat apparently.  But Deckard's trench coat just makes more sense evidently as the dystopia that is called LA is perpetually drizzling or pouring.  A trench coat is functional in addition to being detective like.  (As an aside, I think Brad Pitt's Se7en is as much about serial killer as it's about his neck tie, white shirt and trench coat.)  Notice Deckard wears neck ties, a glorified leash in any hierarchical work place, including the LAPD.  The mysterious Gaff and the independently well-off Tyrell prefer bow tie only.  Not only Deckard wears neck ties but they match his print shirts which also echo his apartment's wall tiles, themselves inspired by the Ennis House which in turn was inspired by Mayan architecture.  Deckard's wardrobe is understatedly wild.  K's sartorial choice: a great coat and a monochromatic black pull over.  They are basic like Gap nothing wrong yet nothing to write home about either.

The future can be off or unreal but humanity can't be, even for replicants.  Tyrell says and I paraphrase, the goal is to make replicants more human than human.  He has succeeded beyond his wildest dream. In the final showdown between Deckard and nexus 6 Roy Batty, instead of letting gravity kill Deckard, Batty grabs his arm and pulls him back to the roof top saving Deckard's life: simultaneously and demonstratively showing forgiveness and compassion, two human traits make human human though at times in short supply when it comes to Tyrell or Deckard to the replicants.

When inspector Bryant cajoled and coerced Deckard out of his retirement he says "... He's not good enough, not good as you. I need you, Deck ...  I need the old Blade Runner, I need your magic."  I concur.

Blade Runner 2049

In the New York Times' anatomy of a scene, director Denis Villeneuve painstakingly narrates the scene where Ryan Gosling's K or Joe is about to find and meet his screen forbear, the original Blade Runner Deckard, played by Harrison Ford.  Villeneuve informs us that he reminds Gosling to walk slower, how the garden of giant naked statures of boobs or whatever is designed by some guy, and the sound effect of the buzzing bees and how very careful he selects the music and hence the significance of it for that scene so on and so forth.  Without his explanations, me philistine wouldn't be able to enjoy his movie.

None of this really matters to me except Gosling sure keeps walking slower and slower the entire movie, which is quite an effective way of putting me to sleep.  Thanks to caffeine and the upright cheap seat, I was able to stay half awake through out this 3-hour plus long snooze fest disaster that is called Blade Runner 2049.

In general I am OK or even like Gosling's phlegmatic puppy faced performance.  I imagine it is even an apt for his character, a meek replicant, android, a non human who can't say no to an order.  Ford plays a caricature of his own character whom he played some thirty five years ago.  Ford nowadays just plays any characters he used to play with some mirthless smirks and call it a performance or a day.  I can't wait to see him play Han Solo in the never ending upcoming Star War Episode XXX.

Blade Runner 2049 is pretty much over when it kills off its most potentially interesting character Sapper played by Dave Baustista in the first fifteen minutes of the film.  Me waited thirty five years for this.  Thanks to Denis Villeneuve, the same director who brought us Arrival (2016)-duh!

Stan Ray

I always like a double front or double knee.  So I finally got myself one.  Wow, it's going to be twice as durable.

When you buy online for apparels, you are still pretty much live in the dark ages.  Most, I say most retailers won't give out the actual measurements.  They figure they rather process more returns I guess.  It would give you the size like 34x32.  You know, I know, and everybody knows the 34 is not the garment measurement.  So it's a guess.

It's YKK, my friend, sign of good quality.  The pull is not extra large or anything, so don't pull with your gloved hand.  Not supposed to anyway.  Unlike a jacket's or outergarment's.

The hickory is more expensive but the loop in the back is missing.  No loop there.  Both designs don't have back yoke above the back pockets.  But I do appreciate the the number of belt loops, not just one in the center but one above the pocket on each side.  So you feel properly belted.  I personally think that's the way it's supposed to be.  The loop is long enough to accommodate wider belt which is a good thing.  Some work pants have narrow belt loops for narrow belts, what's that about?

Nikon SB-800

My first outing using the newly acquired SB-800.  It was 100% AA battery powered so it had a hard time keeping up with the action.  You use what you have, that's about it.  (I bought a Godox PB-960 just so I can shoot my finger off without the wait or the change of AA batteries)  This wasn't done with the high speed sync I bought the flash for.  I think I was shooting more like 1/30 and panned with the action.

This one was done with high speed sync probably 1/1000s.

When you have a flash you end up shooting everything with flash.

EDIT 8/21/2017:
subsequently, I shot the SB-800 with power pack PB-960 hoping that there's virtually no wait to recycle.  Alas, there is.  Between shots the flash ready light was blinking so the flash was capable to go off but whether the exposure was "correct" was entirely a different story.  I tried to use Manual and turned it down to 1/2 and 1/4 but still the recycle is more than instantaneous.  If memories and anecdotes serve me well then I really think the 120J cycle faster whenever it's not at 1/1 power on power pack.  I love my 120J except when it comes to packing and transporting from A to B.  The freaking bare tube and the reflector are just too cumbersome.  Otherwise I think the light is pretty nice, sure it's all subjective, but I think what you believe is important.

EDIT 7/30/2018
the so called NX cable that came with the PB-960 was faulty for sure.  No power was drawn from the pac and hence the recycle time was slow as it was drawn from the 4AA cells.  I just bought another cable and now the setup works as it should and the cycle time is much faster even when I tested it out on manual 1/1 full power.  The NX cable I guess has poor quality control and it just fell below spec as the original was very iffy and most of the time it simply didn't work.  I hope this newer one works and works consistently and for a long time.

Godox or God Ox PB960, Sunpak 120J, Nikon SB-800

The Chinese name is actually literally God Ox.  What a strong brand.

As a owner of two good old Sunpak 120J's, I always want some power pack.  Even I have the original pack in form but not in substance.  I use some rechargeable battery to power the pack.  It's a bit cumbersome I have a separate branded charger to charge the battery and when fully charged I put it back into the holder.  You probably don't know what I am talking about.  I am too lazy to take any pictures.

Universal Smart Charger.  Not just phone could be smart.

Not all sync cords are created equal.  Some are obviously better.  The one on the right is better, which is a Paramount cable by the way.  The one on the left is the original Sunpak cable that has bad contact with the PC outlet on the D810 camera.  Bad.  I think the locking one is the best but I have yet to try one.

My SB-600 is kind of broken, the battery door has bad contacts when I don't use reputable branded batteries.  I think there is some play to the battery door which can result in bad connection with some batteries.  The hot shoe is cracked and the knocking pin is ruined.

And so I bought a SB-800 which is similar but better than the SB-600.  It accepts external battery pack.  It provides more option and plays.

I did some research and in the end, I bought the Godox PB960 pack with a cable for Nikon.  The connection as I understood it is a Quantum cable connection.  Though I can't find any affirmation online that the Godox PB960 can work with the Sunpak 120J I decided to give it a try.  Lucky me I was able to find a Quantum CS4 cable connecting the PB960 to the 120J.

The items arrived and everything just works.

Moving on to some other distractions.

Recap: now I can power two 120J with external powerpacks which definitely provide more flashes and much faster recycle time.  Or I can shoot my SB-800 using high speed sync with instantaneous recycle time, almost.

UPDATE:
7/23/2018
Something is not right when the power pack is attached to the Nikon SB-800.  Initially I thought it just worked.  But I guess it's iffy actually.  Because the SB-800 needs 4AA even when it's supposed to be powered by the pack, so even when the SB-800 is not getting the power from the pack I wouldn't know or it wasn't obvious when the AA are in good power.  Many months ago when I knew the 4AA were running low and then it became apparent that the pack was not powering the SB-800.
My feeling is it's the cable or the ProPac NX cable.  I watched a YouTube video which was similar to what I experience.  Though initially I thought if I power the ProPac and then the SB-800 in that particular everything would work.  It does work but then it is iffy.  Sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't.  I tried 1/1 manual mode so the SB-800 which uses the most power and more noticeable in the cycling time when it draws from the pack or when it draws from the 4AA.  When the SB-800 actually draws power from the pack, I can see the cycling time is faster and the pack's red ready light actually goes dark for a second when it's getting ready for the SB-800.  When the SB-800 is drawing power from its own 4AA (even when it's attached to the pack), the cycling time takes much longer and the ready light on the pack doesn't goes dark at all.
I am debating if I should buy a quantum cable or paramount cable or simply take a chance with another Godox ProPac NX cable.  There is a possiblity that the SB-800 is the culprit but I doubt it.

NIKON, QUANTUM, GODOX, BACKUP, NAS, RAID

It's not hard to get distracted at all.

I can easily spend hours and hours on those items.

I can never have enough storage space.  I can never fully understand backup, mirror, RAID 0 and RAID 1, RSYNC, JBOD.  Just when I thought RAID 1 is a good idea then maybe not.  My USB external hard drive is very iffy.  I can't be sure if the hard drive is the culprit or the enclosure or the computer.  Sometimes I see it and more often than not, I don't see it.  Can I even trust it?  Would a NAS serve me better?  Or just another piece of hardware I need to baby sit going forward?  Nothing runs itself.  It always needs some intervention.  Should I get a NAS harddrive for a NAS when I know I won't do RAID?  Would NAS be a good file server, fast enough?  Does it even matter?  5400 or 7200 rpm?

At the end of the day, I usually end up not knowing where my files are.

Should I get a power pack for my flashes?  I can look at them for hours and days.  What cable should I get?  What power pack should I get?  Are they compatible with my good old Sunpak 120J and Nikon SB-800?  Would the power pack toast them all?  Is Godox good or good enough?

Whenever I feel like I need the distraction I look those things up.

Relaxed Fit

I have my quirks.

I am no fan of slim or skinny fit jeans for the simple reason that I basically am too thick read fat and too old to wear any.  I can't stand any jeans that market as relaxed fit.  What is that?  If I want to feel relaxed, I wear sweat pants.  Why do you need to feel relaxed when you wear a pair of jeans?  Plus isn't relaxed more of an attitude than a fit?  I just wear them regular fit jeans loose; that would be my "relaxed fit" jeans.  I think relaxed fit is an oxymoron.

Lifestyle, Danner, and Nikkor

I have a vague sense of what lifestyle means.  Nothing too negative but nothing too positive here.

I notice Danner, the boots manufacturer actually lists some or actually many of its boots under the Lifestyle banner.  For me that's a questionable classification.  Lifestyle as in fake, wanna be?  I think it's really a brave move.  I mean I wear biker jacket and I don't even own a bike.  I wear tennis shoes and I don't even play tennis (not anymore).  But to explicitly state your products as lifestyle I think it's a brave move especially considering Danner, I think, has a history of manufacturing genuine goods for the military and the like of hunters and gatherers from way back.  For me, lifestyle is almost like a dirty word.

While I am on this topic and in the spirit of one always needs to find something to complain about ...
I can't help but notice NikonUSA likes to classify their lenses into categories, not objectively by focal length or zoom range or max f/stop, but PEOPLE & EVENTS, SPORTS & ACTION, NATURE & WILDLIFE, MACRO & CLOSE-UP, VIDEO, AND SPECIAL PURPOSE.  To me, the only category that kind of makes sense is MACRO & CLOSE-UP.

Optex England 16:9 No 5086

This is an anamorphic adapter that can squeeze the picture from 4:3 to 16:9 or from 16:9 to 16x4/3:9.

I put this adapter in front of my Nikon taking lenses.  Basically I have a hard time getting any subject focused.  Despite what I read or my impression of what I read, this adapter is supposed to work best with longer lenses.  Not my experience.  I have tried my 50mm and 105mm lenses.  And it's just impossible to focus at any distance.  The image just goes blur and won't align.  The only exception is my 28mm AIS f/2 lens.  For some reason, I am able to focus with this image taking lens, I mean not great but better than any lens I have.  The camera I use for this is my Nikon D7000 camera which is a cropped 1.5x sensor.  I applied my hack to it so it has a higher bit rate.  I think the hack site is down or forever gone so I don't know nor do I remember what exactly the hack is.  I don't know the upside of the hack.  The downsides are the file is bigger and I can't play the footage on the camera.

I got this Optex thing a while back and I really think it's border line garbage for my intended anamorphic use as I can't really focus on the thing, not on center not on the edges, not with most lenses.  It doesn't work well with my D810 full frame at all.  The only combination that works is the D7000 and 28mm f/2 lens.  And even that it's not great.  The image is a bit fuzzy and there is no detail to speak of.  I don't remember how much I paid for it.  But I think it is much less than the real thing or even comes close to the more popular model.  So perhaps the price is fair.

The video software that can desqueeze the footage and I have experience on are Final Cut Pro X, Hand Brake and DaVinci Resolve.  I mean I got it to work without fully understanding how it works.

Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant is a tacit admission that the current cinema lacks imagination and courage to make a better sci-fi movie.

I am old so no doubt I will say I remember once upon a time in Aliens (1986), when the crew needs to seal the door, they actually do it like welding the doors shut with some big weld gun like with lots of muscle, grunting and urgency.  Now Alien: Covenant, the very miscast female protagonist Daniels played by Katherine Waterston just shouts out "Mother, close the door" as in calling out the space craft's omni present computer to just shut the door behind her.  That's convenient but where is the action, tension and urgency?  None really.  I try pretty hard to stay awake during the entire movie.  In the end, Ridley Scott jumps the shark and has this stupid shower scene.  I feel like that's it.  No doubt it's a bad movie.  Anytime you see a shower scene like in Hurt Locker (2008), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), it can't be any good, the scene if not the entire movie.  Shower scenes are just corny unless by Hitchcock or something.  And of course, this one is of no exception.

When you are old and becoming a curmudgeon, you wonder if you can ever enjoy a movie again.  Alien:  Covenant unfortunately confirms that you simply can't.

Anything new is just old, but not as good not even close.

Some deep thoughts

I like the combination of my D810 and the Nikkor 16-35 f/4, and together with my Sunpak 120J.  For some reason, I don't quite like the D810 with the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8.

I am still shooting with my D700.  I like the small file size.  But the lack of detail becomes quite apparent when compared to the D810 files.  I like it better with the 70-200 f/2.8

There are always people who take better pictures than you.

The only edge to have is you work harder and smarter.  And if you can't work smarter because of inherently stupid then you just need to work harder.

Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Ghost in the Shell asks the perennial question every human being asks and yet unable to answer--Who am I?  Those who think they have the answer are usually mistaken.

Major who is given a body, not just any body but a Scarlett Johansson body, finds her law enforcement gig less fulfilling without a memory of her past even when reassured by her creator, Dr. Phil, played by the lovely Juliette Binoche, that life is defined by what one does rather than one's memories or past.  And of course, like Major, nobody is free from his past and everybody is burdened by history.

The movie doesn't come with any surprise everything happens just as expected or even like a déjà vu.  Every futuristic cityscape scene is derivative of Blade Runner except it is a knockoff and ten times cheesier.  The Hong Kong streetscape can be interesting only if the post production doesn't feel obliged to add more and more and yet more video gimmickries to the mix.  The few architectural shots are almost facsimile copies of Peter Stewart's pictures of the same.  The 1.85:1 aspect ratio is supposed to give audience an immersive experience but sometimes I can't help but feel like watching 4:3 standard definition TV, also the PG-13 rating doesn't help either.

Nothing good can come out of any existential crisis not even good cinema in this case.  Scarlett Johansson does have very good skin which manages to salvage the movie from downright unwatchable to somewhat entertaining and somewhat watchable.  Between Kong: Skull Island and Ghost in the Shell, the choice is obvious.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Picture

It retails for $99.  Wow, just wow.  Again the plug-in to LR CC could be a bit robust.  LR CC just couldn't find it automatically or it didn't install into the correct current directory.  I have to manually add it to LR CC.  I don't know whose fault it is.  I think the software hasn't been updated for CC and the plug-in just went somewhere else.  I didn't pay retail so I guess I don't feel too bad.  I guess if you are not a paid professional yet, this is your passport to being one.

Nikon ViewNX-i

Nikon probably has the most confusing bundle of software when it comes to imaging.  It offers a bunch of software that are confusing.  But over the years I have learned to put up with them as they are free until this last version ViewNX-i that pushed me over the edge.

The software should first and foremost does no harm to my pictures.  Once it crossed that line, it's done.  I emailed Nikon support of course they won't say nothing one way or another back in December 2016.

Anyway this pushed me to consider Lightroom CC which is kind of the industry standard I suppose.

Kill Bill and Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell has this which reminds me of Kill Bill Volume I.  The KB sequence is really bad ass.  Judging the Ghost teaser, I don't think it measures up in terms of badassness.  But we will see.

Schott Leather Jacket

Over the years I have acquired a few leather jackets.

My first one was from Diesel when I didn't know about Diesel.  I bought it from a shop in downtown Manhattan.  I wasn't afraid to ask for a discount.  It was a bundled deal.  I got a tweed sack jacket from Joshua Blacker used for $10 and I think I paid the jacket for about maybe $300 all in all.  Back then it was actually made in Italy.  It was a biker's jacket all right.  The leather was good and so was the styling.  But it wasn't functionally very sound.  The sleeves don't have zipper to narrow and cut the wind out.  The sleeves aren't designed long enough so it won't ride up to your elbow when you are riding a bike, not that I would ever find out by experience.  Or when you hold on a subway strap hanger. (The purchase took place circa 1989 in downtown.  Back then I had no Internet, so it was just by looking others' and then I saw the jacket the simple line, it was love at first sight.  I got lots of compliments.  Then like most other relationships I found out its shortcomings over the years ... but that's another story.)

Then I think I progressed.  I bought a car coat from Schott.  It has quilt diamond shaped lining.  It was warm.  It has hidden breast pocket inside and two hand pockets with flaps on the front.  The thing is I do put my ungloved hands inside the front pockets when I walk around in the cold.  Before long the pocket flaps got kinked and blended out of shape.  The coat doesn't come with any centre or side vents.  So I don't know why it's a car coat.  Maybe it's not called a car coat.  When you sit down in a car the coat would got bunched up if you don't unbutton as there are no vents to allow the coat to re-shape when you are sitting down driving a car.  (The purchase probably done in Canal Jeans in downtown Manhattan.  I loved Canal Jeans.  It was probably in the early 1990s.  1994 maybe?)

Then I got another Schott, a 141 café racer jacket.  The 1 series is made of naked cow hide while the 641 is made of steer hide.  I am not expert of hide but from what I read the steer cow hide is stiffer and treated so it's more water resistant.  I own two 141 of different sizes.  When you don't know what fits until you own both for a period of time, ha-ha.  They both come with removable faux fir liners.  They add some warmth but since they are fluffy liners it doesn't give you that smooth putting on and taking off experience.  I prefer satin lining so it's smooth to put on and take off.  The jacket has two waist pockets and one chest pockets.  They come with zippers.  The sleeves also come with cuff zippers to block wind out or make your arms look slimmer.  I like the zippered pockets so nothing will fall out.  It's quite important especially you feel insecure.  The liner has an inside leather patched pocket, no zipper though.  It features side buckles to adjust the waist to block off wind.  But I find the leather strap could be an inch longer; over time as the strap rubs against my bag, the strap just come undone from the buckle, an inch longer strap could probably prevent this from happening.  (The first 141 I bought probably form David Z in downtown around 2005 or so, I remember wearing my chunky black cotton mock neck , so I  sized it up to 44.  Later after a few years I bought another one online, this time a size 42)

My latest is a Schott 125.  It's a happy eBay find.  The seller for some reason doesn't list it as a Schott (even all the metal snaps have the name Schott over it), instead the seller mistakenly called it Leathercraft based on the cleaning label.  So the price is not eBay market price for a Schott jacket.  I haven't looked up its vintage based on the tiny label inside the little coin or watch pocket yet.  The jacket is very clean inside and out. The pocket lining is almost pristine.  So that's a good thing.  The jacket misses the detachable liner.  Oh well.  May as well as this old 125 model, the Schott label is actually on the liner.  Compared to my 141, the leather is a touch thinner, that's relatively speaking.  Now I know my 141 is really beefy almost like weight training myself simply by putting it on.  The 125 doesn't come with a half belt so nothing to flap around.  It does come with two belt loops in the front and one in the back.  The jacket does come with side laced gussets and cuff zippers.  Cuff zippers are nice except on two scenarios.  When you want to leave the jacket on to work on your notebook, the zippers would scratch the surface of your very expensive notebook, even though I don't really care that much but it bothers me the zippers are hitting on the aluminum surface.  Maybe that's why some other brands have the cuff zipper on the top?  Another scenario is when your jacket doesn't really fit you that well and the sleeves become extra long.  A biker jacket should have longer sleeves and that's a given.  But extra long?  When you zip the cuffs up, the sleeves would balloon up and look weird ....  After asking on some forum from Schott NYC, their very knowledgable staff member Gail reckons that the jacket was made circa 1985.  Wow, that was some 32 years ago.

Random Thoughts

When I shoot my DSLR, I expect I can shoot more than 1000 frames in one outing.  I was shooting my kid's HS FON performance.  I shot more than 1400 frames between 7 to 10 I think.  And I still have power left.  I don't know how others shoot with camera that can only last a few hundred shots.

Shopping on eBay can be therapeutic.  It distracts.

Does it even make sense to fix my Nikon F5?  The main command dial has been erratic.  I would like to restore to spec but the price may be too high for my liking.