Friday, January 27, 2012
Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers
1. Create a "shot list"
2. Family photo coordinator for wedding photography
3. Scout the location
4. Preparation
5. Turn sounds off
6. Shoot the small stuff
7. Use two cameras (with two different lenses)
8. Try to get a helping hand
9. Be bold without being obtrusive
10. Shoot in RAW
11. Don't delete anything yet
12. Try different angles
13. Try different backgrounds
14. One big group shot
15. Continuous shooting mode
16. Know the sequence of events in advance
17. Take some film just for fun too
18. Don't forget a tripod
Other things to consider/ remember/ practice:
1. Renting a camera: Most professional photography stores have a rental department. Prices for a digital body range from $50-200/day and most lenses range from $10-30/day. Most rental operations offer a discount for multi-day or weekend rental as well. This is good because you get the chance to become familiar with a particular piece of equipment before you have to use it on the job.
2. Family photo coordinator for wedding photography
3. Scout the location
4. Preparation
5. Turn sounds off
6. Shoot the small stuff
7. Use two cameras (with two different lenses)
8. Try to get a helping hand
9. Be bold without being obtrusive
10. Shoot in RAW
11. Don't delete anything yet
12. Try different angles
13. Try different backgrounds
14. One big group shot
15. Continuous shooting mode
16. Know the sequence of events in advance
17. Take some film just for fun too
18. Don't forget a tripod
Other things to consider/ remember/ practice:
1. Renting a camera: Most professional photography stores have a rental department. Prices for a digital body range from $50-200/day and most lenses range from $10-30/day. Most rental operations offer a discount for multi-day or weekend rental as well. This is good because you get the chance to become familiar with a particular piece of equipment before you have to use it on the job.
- Nikon full-frame body: Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S
- Nikon small-sensor body: Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S
- Nikon full-frame body: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S
- Nikon small-sensor body: Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX
- Nikon full-frame body: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR
- Nikon small-sensor body: same as above
2. Lenses with a large maximum aperture of f/2.8 or larger are extremely valuable for weddings. An image that requires a 1/10th of a second shutter speed at f/2.8 will only require 1/30th of a second at f/1.8.
3. One of the most useful things to learn as a way to combat distractions in backgrounds (and foregrounds) is to use the power of your lens to throw the background out of focus using depth of field. What you’re trying to achieve with this technique is a nice blurred background where you can’t really make out what’s going on there.
The easiest way to do this is to use a wide aperture (the smaller the number the wider the aperture). The wider your aperture the more blurry your background should become.
The quickest way to see the impact of this strategy is to switch your camera into aperture priority mode and to take a number of shots at different apertures. Start with an aperture of f/20 and work your way down – one stop at a time. Once you get down to under f/4 you’ll start seeing the background in your shots getting blurrier and blurrier.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
rather annoying video
On the Founding Fathers:
Lambert (2003) has examined the religious affiliations and beliefs of the Founders. Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 49 wereProtestants, and three were Roman Catholics (C. Carroll, D. Carroll, and Fitzsimons). Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 28 wereChurch of England (or Episcopalian, after the American Revolutionary War was won), eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two wereLutherans, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists.
A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical Christians, such as Thomas Jefferson (who created the so-called "Jefferson Bible") and Benjamin Franklin. A few others (most notably Thomas Paine) were deists, or at least held beliefs very similar to those of deists.
On Abraham Lincoln:
As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican party, Lincoln found his policies and personality were "blasted from all sides": Radical Republicans demanded harsher treatment of the South, War Democrats desired more compromise, Copperheads despised him, and irreconcilable secessionists plotted his death. Politically, Lincoln fought back with patronage, by pitting his opponents against each other, and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Po-210 from tobacco
Possibly largest contributor (of Rn-222 or Ra-226) is tobacco which contains radioactive 210Po which emits 5.3 MeV a particles with an half life of T1/2=138.4days.
Weight-for-weight, polonium's toxicity is around 106 times greater than hydrogen cyanide (50 ng for Po-210 vs 50 mg for hydrogen cyanide). The main hazard is its intense radioactivity (as an alpha emitter), which makes it very difficult to handle safely - one gram of Po will self-heat to a temperature of around 500°C. It is also chemically toxic (with poisoning effects analogous with tellurium).
Even in microgram amounts, handling 210Po is extremely dangerous, requiring specialized equipment and strict handling procedures. Alpha particles emitted by polonium will damage organic tissue easily if polonium is ingested, inhaled, or absorbed (though they do not penetrate the epidermis and hence are not hazardous if the polonium
is outside the body).
The lethal dose (LD50) for acute radiation exposure is generally about 4.5 Sv. (Sv = Sievert which is a unit of dose equivalent). The committed effective dose equivalent 210Po is 0.51 µSv/Bq if ingested, and 2.5 µSv/Bq if inhaled. Since 210Po has an activity of 166 TBq per gram (1 gram produces 166×1012 decays per second), a fatal 4-Sv dose can be caused by ingesting 8.8 MBq (238 microcurie), about 50 nanograms (ng), or inhaling 1.8 MBq (48 microcurie), about 10 ng.
The lethal dose (LD50) for acute radiation exposure is generally about 4.5 Sv. (Sv = Sievert which is a unit of dose equivalent). The committed effective dose equivalent 210Po is 0.51 µSv/Bq if ingested, and 2.5 µSv/Bq if inhaled. Since 210Po has an activity of 166 TBq per gram (1 gram produces 166×1012 decays per second), a fatal 4-Sv dose can be caused by ingesting 8.8 MBq (238 microcurie), about 50 nanograms (ng), or inhaling 1.8 MBq (48 microcurie), about 10 ng.
One gram of 210Po could thus in theory poison 100 million people of which 50 million
would die (LD50). The maximum allowable body burden for ingested polonium is only 1,100 Bq (0.03 microcurie), which is equivalent to a particle weighing only 6.8 picograms. The maximum permissible concentration for airborne soluble polonium compounds is about 10 Bq/m3 (2.7 × 10-10 µCi/cm3). The biological half-life of polonium in humans is 30 to 50 days. The target organs for polonium in humans are the spleen and liver. As the spleen (150 g) and the liver (1.3 to 3 kg) are much smaller than the rest of the body, if the polonium is concentrated in these vital organs, it is a greater threat to life than the dose which would be suffered (on average) by the whole body if it were spread evenly throughout the body, in the same way as cesium or tritium.
Notably, the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 was announced as due to 210Po poisoning. Generally, 210Po is most lethal when it is ingested. Litvinenko was probably the first person ever to die of the acute α-radiation effects of 210Po , although Irene Joliot-Curie was actually the first person ever to die from the radiation effects of polonium (due to a single intake) in the late 1950s. It is reasonable to assume that many people have died as a result of lung cancer caused by the alpha emission of polonium present in their lungs, either as a radon daughter or from tobacco smoke.
Notably, the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 was announced as due to 210Po poisoning. Generally, 210Po is most lethal when it is ingested. Litvinenko was probably the first person ever to die of the acute α-radiation effects of 210Po , although Irene Joliot-Curie was actually the first person ever to die from the radiation effects of polonium (due to a single intake) in the late 1950s. It is reasonable to assume that many people have died as a result of lung cancer caused by the alpha emission of polonium present in their lungs, either as a radon daughter or from tobacco smoke.
she can see again
Two women losing their sight to progressive forms of blindness may have regained some vision while participating in an experiment testing a treatment made from human embryonic stem cells, researchers reported today.
The report marks the first time that scientists have produced direct evidence that human embryonic stem cells may have helped a patient. The cells had only previously been tested in the laboratory or in animals.
....
Scientists discovered human embryonic stem cells in 1998. Many researchers believe they could revolutionize medicine because they can morph into virtually any type of cell in the body. That means they could potentially provide cells to treat many diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries.
But they field has been the focus of intense debate and controversy because human embryos are often destroyed to obtain the cells. Critics consider any research on human embryos, and especially the destruction of human embryos, to be immoral.
In July, Schwartz and his colleagues injected about 50,000 RPE cells made from stem cells into the right eye of Sue Freeman, 78, of Laguna Beach, Calif., who had lost most of her vision to macular degeneration.
Because of the disease, she could no longer recognize faces, read, cook or even go outside on her own. But within six weeks of the procedure, Freeman started to notice she could see landscapes better. Tests showed she could read more letters on an eye chart. Soon, she was making her own breakfast again and even has gone shopping alone.
"One day, I looked down and I could see my watch," she said. "I probably hadn't seen it in about a year and a half or two. And I could see. So that was exciting for me. And I remember saying, 'Oh my goodness. I can see my watch. I can actually tell time.' "
The report marks the first time that scientists have produced direct evidence that human embryonic stem cells may have helped a patient. The cells had only previously been tested in the laboratory or in animals.
....
Scientists discovered human embryonic stem cells in 1998. Many researchers believe they could revolutionize medicine because they can morph into virtually any type of cell in the body. That means they could potentially provide cells to treat many diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries.
But they field has been the focus of intense debate and controversy because human embryos are often destroyed to obtain the cells. Critics consider any research on human embryos, and especially the destruction of human embryos, to be immoral.
In July, Schwartz and his colleagues injected about 50,000 RPE cells made from stem cells into the right eye of Sue Freeman, 78, of Laguna Beach, Calif., who had lost most of her vision to macular degeneration.
Because of the disease, she could no longer recognize faces, read, cook or even go outside on her own. But within six weeks of the procedure, Freeman started to notice she could see landscapes better. Tests showed she could read more letters on an eye chart. Soon, she was making her own breakfast again and even has gone shopping alone.
"One day, I looked down and I could see my watch," she said. "I probably hadn't seen it in about a year and a half or two. And I could see. So that was exciting for me. And I remember saying, 'Oh my goodness. I can see my watch. I can actually tell time.' "
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | The Verge
Patent lawsuits won’t save Kodak from an overhaul, it seems: as predicted, the photography company just announced that it’s filed for bankruptcy. Kodak says it’s voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in New York, in order to “bolster liquidity in the U.S. and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the Company to focus on its most valuable business lines.”
Thursday, January 19, 2012
new restrictions
After the sweeping success of the Tea Party, only six states have governments where both houses of the legislature and the governor support abortion rights, while 19 states have a governor and majority of the legislature opposed to abortion.
The states that passed the largest number of abortion restrictions in 2011 all got new, anti-abortion GOP governors in 2009 or 2010: Florida, Arizona and Kansas.
Interestingly, however, those states don't match the list of the top "pro-life" states as ranked today by the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. AUL, which ranked states not just according to anti-abortion legislation but also issues including euthanasia, cloning and stem-cell research, put Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania at the top of its list. Bringing up the rear were Hawaii, California and Washington.
Meanwhile, the NARAL report shows that the 69 anti-abortion laws fell broadly into five separate categories.
1. Mandatory ultrasound laws. These laws, now passed by eight states, require a physician to perform an ultrasound on a pregnant women before performing an abortion, even if it is not medically indicated and the woman does not request it.
2. Abortion insurance coverage bans. These laws, now passed by 16 states, ban abortion coverage by private health insurers. Some apply to all health insurers in a state, some to the new health "exchanges" that will be created by the Affordable Care Act.
3. Nebraska copycat bans. In 2010, Nebraska banned most abortions after 20 weeks gestation, on the contested theory that it marks the point in pregnancy when a fetus can feel pain. So far at least five more states — Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama — have joined Nebraska in enacting similar laws.
4. Race and sex selection laws. These are laws that make it a crime for physicians to fail to ensure that abortions are not being done purely for race or gender selection reasons. Arizona passed such a law in March 2011, joining three other states that had older laws already on the books.
5. Affiliation bans. These laws seek to bar abortion providers (often, but not exclusively Planned Parenthood) from receiving state funds for family planning or other services. Three states passed new laws in 2011, bringing to 11 the number of states with such laws in place, although four are currently being blocked by court order.
And action is already heating up for 2012, say both sides. Several states are looking at "personhood" ballot amendments, which define life as beginning at fertilization. Such laws would not only ban all abortions with no exception, but also many forms of birth control.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Senate is expected to move early this year on a bill to ban abortion at the point the fetal heartbeat can be detected – about eight weeks into pregnancy. The bill passed the Ohio House last year.
That bill "would outlaw abortion at a point in pregnancy when most women aren't even aware they're pregnant," said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.
And it would almost certainly prompt a challenge to the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. That decision marks its 39th anniversary this Sunday.
npr
The states that passed the largest number of abortion restrictions in 2011 all got new, anti-abortion GOP governors in 2009 or 2010: Florida, Arizona and Kansas.
Interestingly, however, those states don't match the list of the top "pro-life" states as ranked today by the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. AUL, which ranked states not just according to anti-abortion legislation but also issues including euthanasia, cloning and stem-cell research, put Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania at the top of its list. Bringing up the rear were Hawaii, California and Washington.
Meanwhile, the NARAL report shows that the 69 anti-abortion laws fell broadly into five separate categories.
1. Mandatory ultrasound laws. These laws, now passed by eight states, require a physician to perform an ultrasound on a pregnant women before performing an abortion, even if it is not medically indicated and the woman does not request it.
2. Abortion insurance coverage bans. These laws, now passed by 16 states, ban abortion coverage by private health insurers. Some apply to all health insurers in a state, some to the new health "exchanges" that will be created by the Affordable Care Act.
3. Nebraska copycat bans. In 2010, Nebraska banned most abortions after 20 weeks gestation, on the contested theory that it marks the point in pregnancy when a fetus can feel pain. So far at least five more states — Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama — have joined Nebraska in enacting similar laws.
4. Race and sex selection laws. These are laws that make it a crime for physicians to fail to ensure that abortions are not being done purely for race or gender selection reasons. Arizona passed such a law in March 2011, joining three other states that had older laws already on the books.
5. Affiliation bans. These laws seek to bar abortion providers (often, but not exclusively Planned Parenthood) from receiving state funds for family planning or other services. Three states passed new laws in 2011, bringing to 11 the number of states with such laws in place, although four are currently being blocked by court order.
And action is already heating up for 2012, say both sides. Several states are looking at "personhood" ballot amendments, which define life as beginning at fertilization. Such laws would not only ban all abortions with no exception, but also many forms of birth control.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Senate is expected to move early this year on a bill to ban abortion at the point the fetal heartbeat can be detected – about eight weeks into pregnancy. The bill passed the Ohio House last year.
That bill "would outlaw abortion at a point in pregnancy when most women aren't even aware they're pregnant," said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.
And it would almost certainly prompt a challenge to the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. That decision marks its 39th anniversary this Sunday.
npr
gallup poll
The evidence is clear, as in a February 2009 Gallup Poll, taken on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday, that reported only 39 percent of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36 percent don't have an opinion either way.
The same poll correlated belief in evolution with educational level: 21 percent of people with a high school education or less believed in evolution. That number rose to 41 percent for people with some college attendance, 53 percent for college graduates, and 74 percent for people with a postgraduate education.
Clearly, the level of education has an impact on how people feel about evolution.
Another variable investigated by the same poll was how belief in evolution correlates with church attendance. Of those who believe in evolution, 24 percent go to church weekly, 30 percent go nearly weekly/monthly, and 55 percent seldom or never go.
npr
The same poll correlated belief in evolution with educational level: 21 percent of people with a high school education or less believed in evolution. That number rose to 41 percent for people with some college attendance, 53 percent for college graduates, and 74 percent for people with a postgraduate education.
Clearly, the level of education has an impact on how people feel about evolution.
Another variable investigated by the same poll was how belief in evolution correlates with church attendance. Of those who believe in evolution, 24 percent go to church weekly, 30 percent go nearly weekly/monthly, and 55 percent seldom or never go.
npr
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Nicolas Steno
Considered one of the founders of modern stratigraphy and, together with James Hutton, the founder of modern geology.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Today I learned that in Finland,
- “It’s more difficult getting into teacher education than law or medicine”;
- speeding tickets are calculated according to income;
- the average resident checks out 17 books a year from the library;
- subtitles are required on foreign TV programs;
- there’s a saying: “Only dead fish follow the stream.”
64 years
Married after 64 Years Together, Thanks to Marriage Equality in New York
http://queerlandia.com/2011/12/20/married-after-64-years-together-thanks-to-marriage-equality-in-new-york/
47% of Congress Members Millionaires — a Status Shared by Only 1% of Americans
Nov 16, 2011 8:45am
It’s no secret that many members of the U.S. House and Senate are millionaires — 47 percent of them — their salaries paid in part by the American taxpayers.
The Center for Responsive Politics has crunched the numbers and released the results on its Open Secrets blog:
“About 47 percent of Congress, or 249 current members are millionaires. … In 2010, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.56 million,” according to the Center’s research.
“Despite the global economic meltdown in 2008 and the sluggish recovery that followed, that’s up about 7.6 percent from an estimated median net worth of $2.38 million in 2009 … and up 13 percent from a median net worth of $2.27 million in 2008. … Fully 36 Senate Democrats, and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million in 2010. The same was true for 110 House Republicans and 73 House Democrats.”
“The vast majority of members of Congress are quite comfortable, financially, while many of their own constituents suffer from economic hardships,” said Sheila Krumholz at the Center For Responsive Politics. “Few Americans enjoy the same financial cushions maintained by most members of Congress — or the same access to market-altering information that could yield personal, financial gains.”
abcnews
The Center for Responsive Politics has crunched the numbers and released the results on its Open Secrets blog:
“About 47 percent of Congress, or 249 current members are millionaires. … In 2010, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.56 million,” according to the Center’s research.
“Despite the global economic meltdown in 2008 and the sluggish recovery that followed, that’s up about 7.6 percent from an estimated median net worth of $2.38 million in 2009 … and up 13 percent from a median net worth of $2.27 million in 2008. … Fully 36 Senate Democrats, and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million in 2010. The same was true for 110 House Republicans and 73 House Democrats.”
“The vast majority of members of Congress are quite comfortable, financially, while many of their own constituents suffer from economic hardships,” said Sheila Krumholz at the Center For Responsive Politics. “Few Americans enjoy the same financial cushions maintained by most members of Congress — or the same access to market-altering information that could yield personal, financial gains.”
abcnews
obamacare to the rescue
That was the headline of the LA Times op-ed of December 6th, by a lady with the unusual name of Spike Dolomite Ward, who announced at the top that she had an apology to make to President Obama.
I found out three weeks ago I have cancer. I'm 49 years old, have been married for almost 20 years and have two kids. My husband has his own small computer business, and I run a small nonprofit in the San Fernando Valley. I am also an artist. Money is tight, and we don't spend it frivolously. We're just ordinary, middle-class people, making an honest living, raising great kids and participating in our community, the kids' schools and church.
...
Not having insurance amplifies cancer stress. After the diagnosis, instead of focusing all of my energy on getting well, I was panicked about how we were going to pay for everything. I felt guilty and embarrassed about not being insured. When I went to the diagnostic center to pick up my first reports, I was sent to the financial department, where a woman sat me down to talk about resources for "cash patients" (a polite way of saying "uninsured").
...
Fortunately for me, I've been saved by the federal government's Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, something I had never heard of before needing it. It's part of President Obama's healthcare plan, one of the things that has already kicked in, and it guarantees access to insurance for U.S. citizens with preexisting conditions who have been uninsured for at least six months. The application was short, the premiums are affordable, and I have found the people who work in the administration office to be quite compassionate (nothing like the people I have dealt with over the years at other insurance companies.) It's not perfect, of course, and it still leaves many people in need out in the cold. But it's a start, and for me it's been a lifesaver - perhaps literally.
Which brings me to my apology. I was pretty mad at Obama before I learned about this new insurance plan. I had changed my registration from Democrat to Independent, and I had blacked out the top of the "h" on my Obama bumper sticker, so that it read, "Got nope" instead of "got hope." I felt like he had let down the struggling middle class. My son and I had campaigned for him, but since he took office, we felt he had let us down.
So this is my public apology. I'm sorry I didn't do enough of my own research to find out what promises the president has made good on. I'm sorry I didn't realize that he really has stood up for me and my family, and for so many others like us. I'm getting a new bumper sticker to cover the one that says "Got nope." It will say "ObamaCares."
source
I found out three weeks ago I have cancer. I'm 49 years old, have been married for almost 20 years and have two kids. My husband has his own small computer business, and I run a small nonprofit in the San Fernando Valley. I am also an artist. Money is tight, and we don't spend it frivolously. We're just ordinary, middle-class people, making an honest living, raising great kids and participating in our community, the kids' schools and church.
...
Not having insurance amplifies cancer stress. After the diagnosis, instead of focusing all of my energy on getting well, I was panicked about how we were going to pay for everything. I felt guilty and embarrassed about not being insured. When I went to the diagnostic center to pick up my first reports, I was sent to the financial department, where a woman sat me down to talk about resources for "cash patients" (a polite way of saying "uninsured").
...
Fortunately for me, I've been saved by the federal government's Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, something I had never heard of before needing it. It's part of President Obama's healthcare plan, one of the things that has already kicked in, and it guarantees access to insurance for U.S. citizens with preexisting conditions who have been uninsured for at least six months. The application was short, the premiums are affordable, and I have found the people who work in the administration office to be quite compassionate (nothing like the people I have dealt with over the years at other insurance companies.) It's not perfect, of course, and it still leaves many people in need out in the cold. But it's a start, and for me it's been a lifesaver - perhaps literally.
Which brings me to my apology. I was pretty mad at Obama before I learned about this new insurance plan. I had changed my registration from Democrat to Independent, and I had blacked out the top of the "h" on my Obama bumper sticker, so that it read, "Got nope" instead of "got hope." I felt like he had let down the struggling middle class. My son and I had campaigned for him, but since he took office, we felt he had let us down.
So this is my public apology. I'm sorry I didn't do enough of my own research to find out what promises the president has made good on. I'm sorry I didn't realize that he really has stood up for me and my family, and for so many others like us. I'm getting a new bumper sticker to cover the one that says "Got nope." It will say "ObamaCares."
source
Saturday, January 7, 2012
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