I don’t see using FitBit as a total fitness plan, but it does a great job at capturing activity that makes up your daily routine.  Since your activities are being tracked, you are much more aware of your activity level and pushes you to extend your current activities to post some good counts for the day (take that walk, walk up those extra flights, etc).  They offer some bonus badges as your hit milestones (it already worked for me as I took a second walk to hit my steps milestone for the day).  You can read more about the details on their web site, but it’s a great little product that works as advertised.  Five stars.

An example of data in your FitBit dashboard

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,000 times in 2010. That’s about 14 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 5 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 262 posts. There were 22 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 1mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was January 5th with 128 views. The most popular post that day was SDHC Memory Card Tests with my Canon XSi.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were answers.yahoo.com, flickr.com, youtube.com, max3dmodels.com, and google.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for strobist, visual studio 2008 sp1 64 bit, visual studio 2008 sp1 x64, best sd card for canon xsi, and kata sensitivity v.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

SDHC Memory Card Tests with my Canon XSi August 2008
6 comments

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Setup Failure on 64-bit Vista Solved September 2008
10 comments

What’s in my bag? Episode 1 September 2008
8 comments

How I fixed the iPad Belkin Grip Vue Case and iPad Keyboard Dock compatibility issue with a blade July 2010

My Lightroom import settings January 2010

iPad with Belkin Grip Vue in the Apple Keyboard Dock

The Problem:

The problem to solve here occurs because the iPad doesn’t fit the Apple accessories like the keyboard dock when your iPad is in any type of case. Since a case like the Belkin Grip Vue fits so snugly, it is a chore to remove it each time you want to dock the iPad.

The Solution:

As a companion to the article “How I fixed the iPad Case and Dock compatibility issue with scissors“, this describes doing a similar process, but for the iPad Keyboard Dock, which has a higher backplate than the standard iPad dock, and the Belkin iPad Grip Vue Case, though it should work with any similar case as well.

I’m liking the Belkin Grip Vue case as it’s a grippy surface and covers the back and sides of the case but keeps the iPad easily accessible. The iPad is much easier to hold onto for longer periods of time in this case.  Here’s how you can make it all work:

(Like the linked article above, this hack involves breaking out a blade and cutting your case, so decide if you’re ready to commit. But since only small area at the bottom center of the case is removed, the case is still able to maintain its tight grip on the iPad and I haven’t had any issues with the new case after modification.)

Steps for the hack:

1. Remove the case from the iPad
2. Measure and mark off the area to cut — centered over the dock connector hole, you’ll need to make a cut 73mm wide and 46mm high (measured from the bottom). Measure twice, cut once. It’s best to use an X-ACTO Knife or other blade and a straightedge for a straight, clean cut.
3. Test-fit the case back onto the iPad and see if any cleanup of the edges is needed to get a perfect fit into the keyboard dock.  I trimmed a little extra away on the bottom where the speaker grill is to prevent a small flap from getting in the way (see “Cutaway from underneath” photo).
4. When the fit is perfect, remove the case from the iPad and pass a flame close to (but not touching) the the newly cut area. This will seal the edges together and smooth out the cut area for a professional look.
5. Put the case back on the iPad and enjoy docking into the keyboard dock without removing the case.

Apple Keyboard Dock

Belkin Grip Vue iPad case with notch removed

Cutaway from underneath

Final product

Before:

After:

The recipe for this was the following:

• Can-O-Whoopass (100% with layer masking hiding people)
• Claire-ify (71% with layer making to lighten faces)
• Yin-Yang (Yang 61% with layer masking to bring back some dark clothing)
• Orange You Glad… (40% with layer masking to lessen red on faces)
• Boutwell Magic Glasses (100% with layer masking to hide faces)
• Rusty Cage (40% with layer masking to affect only background)
• Pro Retouch (30% with layer masking to affect faces only) with Eye Bump (19%)
• Slice Like A Ninja (100% with layer masking to affect only a few details – rings, glasses)
• Prettyizer
• Burn-Out

I’ll probably find the image too overcooked in the morning (upon smaller export it looks even more cooked — oh well), but it was an exercise to learn the different actions.  I’ve used the OnOne plugins, and they’re good as well, but I see how Actions are a more surgical solution as you have access to many of the steps that make up the action and you can adjust each step independently.  Using layer masks to apply the effect only where needed is key as well.  Overall, I’m impressed with the range of effects offered by the Totally Rad actions.

My Lightroom import settings

Here is my setup when importing photos into Lightroom, illustrated in the screenshot below:

Folder structure:
My photos are imported to a separate internal hard drive to a folder of Photos/{Year}/{Event}.  So photos of Halloween in 2009 would be imported to Photos/2009/Halloween.  This structure allows fairly quick identification of photos when browsing the folders or identifying them for back up purposes.  Movies (manually copied until Lightroom supports movie import) go to Movies/{Year}/{Event}.

Storage file format:
The photos are converted to DNG format as they are imported.

File naming convention:
Photos are imported and named using the following template:
{Date (YYYYMMDD)}_{Hour}{Minute}{Second}_{Import # (01)}_{Sequence # (0001)}.dng
The date and time refer to the capture date and time of the photo.  Import # refers to a sequential count of the imports performed today, and sequence # is a counter that increments during the import session for each photo.  So photos end up having names such as 20100106_130532_01_0001.dng, which would indicate the first photo of the first import, captured January 6, 2010 at 1:05:32pm.

Import grouping:
I import similar photos separately, so if I had photos of a wedding, a soccer game, and a portrait session on the same memory card, I would run 3 imports, selecting photos from each of the groups separately.  This allows me to apply the appropriate tags to the photos during import.

Backup:
I use Lightroom’s built-in import backup functionality to send a copy of the photos to an external drive as they’re imported in case I need to recover a photo prior to its normal backup process.  Photos are copied to another drive across the network as well as sent to the online backup service Mozy.

I made the list without regard to what type of artists or music were represented, and as I look back at the list there’s an interesting mix – mostly the heavy, melodic hard rock I would expect, but also some quiet moments and a mix of humor – all types of music I go to the well for when I want to draw out specific emotions.  It is also a list of comeback stories — this decade found a lot of my artists rediscovering and reinventing themselves, sometimes after a long hiatus or perhaps a period of consistent but not groundbreaking output.

The list (in non-committal alphabetical order):

	Edguy – Hellfire Club (2004) German melodic hard-rockers, but they lead with their music and it’s an all-English vocal affair (i.e. no intense-German Rammstein vibe here). Great songwriting and melodies over a heavy rhythm section. Sonically sweet, it’s a great blending of guitars, bass, keyboards, and great vocals from an old-school front man. They also put on a great live show.
	Extreme – Saudades de Rock (2008) A great comeback album.  Extreme have my favorite rock guitarist – Nuno Bettencourt who still brings his mix of heavy, percussive, and funky rhythm work along with crazy leads and orchestration.  To have a new album from these guys was a real treat this decade. “Saudades de Rock” is a collection of great songs that bring back the heavy elements of Extreme and their love of Queen in “Star”, but there are a lot of new sounds here too, including a speedy country-tinged number “Take Us Alive”, the atmospheric “Ghost” and the beautiful ballad “Interface” that was brought forward from Nuno’s last project.  In concert they still pour every bit of energy into it as they were doing 20 years ago.  They are one of my top all-time concert experiences back in 1990 on an early leg of the “Pornograffitti” tour and still brought that same energy when I saw them in 2008.   A good album all the way through.
	Freak Kitchen – Organic (2005), Move (2002) Comic relief, but so much more. This is a Swedish 3-piece fronted by the guitar god Mattias “IA” Eklundh. He puts his freak guitar antics aside to serve the songs and lets loose with a collection of edgy, funny, and unique pop songs with a twist. I bundled these two albums as they work great together as a single unit. You’ll hear some interesting guitar work here but it succeeds in supporting the quirky songs perfectly. For all of IA’s craziness, he proves he can craft great pop tunes and melodies when he wants to. Want to hear a 5/4 pop song that works (and one you could probably dance to)? Try “Nobody’s Laughing” from “Move”. The lyrics here totally work and are very entertaining and cut quick to our cultural inconsistencies. You’ll be singing along after a single listen.
	Iron Maiden – Brave New World (2000) Comeback album by the heavy metal legends Iron Maiden. This album is sonically great and sounds like a continuation of the direction they were going on one of my favorite Maiden albums, “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son“. All the Maiden signatures are here – galloping rhythm, cool bass parts, anthemic vocals, and complex songwriting. Their next couple of albums in the decade, “Dance of Death”, and “A Matter of Life and Death” continue this forward.
	Johnny A – Sometime Tuesday Morning (2001) I was introduced to Johnny A when he opened for Eric Johnson a few years ago and was amazed by the range of sounds he could coax from a slim hollow-body Gibson with a Bigsby tremolo. The result is an enchanting and ethereal sound, played out over a mix of jazzy lounge-style tunes and ultra-hip bluesy numbers. His touch on the Bigsby is intoxicating on “Sometime Tuesday Morning” as he goes through some of his own compositions as well as bringing new takes on some great covers such as “Wichita Lineman”, “Yes It Is”, and “Walk Don’t Run”. His next release “Get Inside” is just as great and there will hopefully be a lot more to come. The concert experience here is also not to be missed.
	King’s X – XV (2008) My favorite band and they cemented their position with the release of “XV” in 2008. King’s X have been putting out consistently good work all decade, but “XV” finds them firing on all cylinders and is both a return to classic form as well as a push in a new direction. The songs are the highlight here with some new classics like “Pray For Me”, “Alright”, and “Go Tell Somebody”. dUg Pinnick is the ultimate voice in the ultimate 3-piece band, bringing soul in droves to the heavy, funky foundation of their rhythm section. This CD is produced by the famed Michael Wagener who brings some great sound and focus to the project. Great songs, great band, great live show.
	Nevermore – This Godless Endeavor (2005) This is probably my most-played heavy album of the decade. This one is a real treat played at volume, whether it’s a speedy double-bass assault or slow, heavy, and tight rhythmic riffing. The production and engineering of the great Andy Sneap pay off here in an album that sounds clear and amazing, even with such heavy elements at work. From the album cover onward, Nevermore bring together a (post) apocalyptic vision that is powerful in its lyric and musical manifestation. Vocalist Warrel Dane brings a great sound and power to the songs, bringing a Queensryche vibe to the mix but in a heavier venue, letting loose some great vocal melodies that ride on top of the heavy undercurrent. The dual guitar work here is wonderfully layered and heavy – even on the slow numbers, blending acoustic elements with some great sounding distorted tones. Jeff Loomis is my favorite player in this genre and brings some great lead work to the table. A highlight of the disc is the slow but heavy sci-fi “Sentient 6″ which lays out the struggle of a machine that’s studied man and is becoming self-aware as it struggles between the destruction of mankind and its longing to become “more than a machine” – something mankind has denied it. The instrumental break plays this out perfectly, starting with the mathematically-harmonized guitar lines sprung from the mind of a machine that ultimately give way into bluesy and emotional human phrases. I look forward to their next one.
	Pantera – Reinventing the Steel (2000) We lost metal’s great talent Dimebag Darrell this decade, and with it his former band Pantera. Pantera’s last album “Reinventing the Steel” was a comeback album of sorts for them and was the first one I got into. Pantera reinvented metal in the 90s and with “Reinventing the Steel” I discovered what I’d been missing. Their collection of Texas hard rock sets all your testosterone loose with no-apologies guitar work and angry subject matter. Darrell was a lover of all things rock-and-roll and the passion he commits to it is fully evidenced here. A drummer/guitarist duo like their heroes the Van Halens, brothers Vinnie & Darrell are locked into the groove like I suppose only blood brothers can be. The titles of the songs themselves lay the attitude on the table – “Goddamn Electric”, “Revolution Is My Name”, “I’ll Cast a Shadow” – and the music backs it up. This is kick-ass Texas hard rock that took metal to the next level and laid the groundwork for all of the heavy bands of today.
	Scorpions – Humanity: Hour 1 (2007) This is a great melodic hard rock album, finding the Scorpions teaming with songwriting giants such as hit-machine Desmond Child, James Michael (songwriter/producer and Sixx: A.M. singer), and Eric Bazilian (of Hooters and “One Of Us” fame). A lot of these songs could be reworked as pop numbers, but the Scorpions add enough of an edge to them to keep them rocking. “Humanity” sounds inspired from Freddie Mercury’s “Innuendo”-era Queen vocals, which is a good thing.
	Symphony X – Paradise Lost (2007) I’ve been listening to Symphony X for a while now and they continue to best their efforts with each release. This album brings together their heavy riffs and layered orchestration with some great melodies and songwriting. Michael Romeo is an incredible guitarist, but the symphonic elements and orchestration he brings to the table here are amazing. The opener, “Oculus ex Inferni” is an orchestral treat that sets the stage for the bombast that follows. Russell Allen’s vocals are in great form and are more accessible here and provide the power for the melodies you find yourself singing along to. The guitar parts are incredible, but fit right into the pocket of these complex songs. I wasn’t sure how their songs would translate in concert, but they worked big-time. They also released a version of the album with a 5.1 surround mix.
	Tesla – Into The Now (2004) This is one of the comebacks that exceeds the albums in their back catalog. Tesla came out among the hard rock 80s bands, but shower off the Aqua Net and a great 70s-era hard rock band remains. Jeff Keith is a great front man born a bit too late for that era, but brings his distinctive vocals and matured lyrics into the new millennium. Twin guitars round out the sound to give that classic rock feel. This album contains some great songs – among them the concert-opening rocker “Into The Now”, the heavy “Heaven Nine Eleven”, and the beautiful ballad “Caught In A Dream”. Tesla continued the party in 2008 with another great album “Forever More” which is as good or better than this one. Don’t miss a concert by these guys – they know how to put on an old-school rock-and-roll show.
	Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999) This one came out in 1999, but it’s still so great and important to me that I have to include it on this list. I love the formula and contrast of his work – at a cursory level, it’s some of the strangest-sounding material you’ll hear, but spend just a little time giving into it and you’ll be cut deep with the storytelling and the emotion that is brought forth from within yourself. He has a way of establishing a whole world and vibe in a couple of opening lines. “Mule Variations” is a collection of classics like “Hold On”, “Get Behind The Mule”, “Picture In A Frame”, “Chocolate Jesus”, and well, all of them. “Come On Up To The House” gets me every time…The instrumentation on “Mule Variations” reminds me of the broken-down graveyard musicians in Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, with a mix of strange-sounding instruments and oddly-performed parts to go along with Waits’ gravelly voice, but in the end it’s all just perfect. Tom Waits had some other great albums this decade with “Alice”, “Blood Money”, and “Real Gone”, and the “Orphans…” collection, but this is tops as a collection of songs. Plus, he composed “Way Down In The Hole”, which served as the theme song for the TV series of the decade, “The Wire“.
	Winger – IV (2006) Another great comeback from a band that deserves to be re-evaluated if you haven’t heard them lately. I’m not afraid to put Winger on my list. I like Winger. If you disagree with me, you’re probably a racist. Kip Winger has matured into a great songwriter (and also classical composer) and shows his production skills here as well with a collection of nicely-layered instrumentation. Lyrically, this album (and its great cover art) explores the perspective of the American soldier in a non-political way and serves as a great tribute to their sacrifices – not heavy-handed at all.  The song “Blue Suede Shoes” that appears on “IV” (for which Kip was honored by the US Armed Forces) ranks as one of the tops of the decade. There are some good rockers on here as well, and rock heavyweights Reb Beach and Rod Morgenstein always bring the groove. Their latest effort “Karma” (2009) is also very good.

Honorable Mention:
Song of the Living Dead
Soundtrack to the great zombie musical put on by the great Atlanta theatre company, Dad’s Garage.

Close behind:
Joe Bonamassa – The Ballad Of John Henry (2009)
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot (2009)
Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
Dreamscape – End Of Silence (2004)
Mark Knopfler – Shangri-La (2004)
Shaw Blades – Influence (2007)
Sixx: A.M. – Heroin Diaries Soundtrack (2007)
Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad (2008)

This was taken with the Canon EF 17-40mm wide-angle lens.  I took a spot on the ground and pointed the camera up as the setting sum was hitting the leaves.  Back in the lab I split the image into 3 exposures in Lightroom and used Photomatix to create a pseudo-HDR, and added some tilt-shift effect to the focusing via Photoshop.

The camera was set to a 30 second exposure, with the timer set to a 45 second interval.  I used the Sigma 8mm Fisheye Lens for this one, so you get a full view of everything.

The video can be seen here.

(Click to watch the video on YouTube)

A rare snow, a timelapse photography session, and a PetSmart grooming date collided and the attached video was created. The video was shot using a Canon PowerShot G9 sitting on the dash attached to a POD Camera Bean Bag tripod. The resulting video was brought into iMovie ’09 and put together with the audio. The G9 was set to timelapse video mode, shooting at 1 second intervals, with the ND filter turned on for the longest exposure possible.

Gear Used:

• Canon PowerShot G9
• POD Camera Bean Bag tripod
• iMovie ’09

Timelapse Photography Tips:

• Use a tripod or support to keep the shooting perspective steady.
• Set a manual white balance so the camera does not change from shot-to-shot.
• Set a manual exposure to keep the camera from adapting to changing light.
• Drag the shutter – use a longer shutter speed to blur the motion from shot-to-shot to prevent “blips” of new subjects entering the frame.

View the HD video

Photos from the party

Checklist

Rock Band 2 – we rock on the XBox 360, but you can also rock on your Playstation or Wii.

Ion Drum Rocker Premium Drum Set – this is a premium drum kit that amps up the experience considerably. Skip the drums that come with RB2 and go straight for this kit.

Backstage Passes – we made printed up 3″x4″ artist passes for all of our rockers – came up with a template in Photoshop, put 2 to a sheet, and printed them out on 4″x6″ photo paper at the local drugstore. Then placed them in lanyards purchased at Staples. Instant credentials to present to people upon their arrival.

Mic stand – put the Rock Band Microphone
on a stand