Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Dish posted this email from a reader.

In posting that Quote of the Day from Jon Stewart, you showed the optimistic Stewart but missed what I think is the most important quote in the piece:

“Jon has chronicled the death of shame in politics and journalism,” says Brian Williams, the NBC Nightly News anchor who is a frequent Daily Show guest. “Many of us on this side of the journalism tracks often wish we were on Jon’s side. I envy his platform to shout from the mountaintop. He’s a necessary branch of government.”

That’s why the country is screwed, on a fundamental level.  A “journalist” (attractive man with nice hair) with one of the biggest platforms to report the truth in the country complaining about how he lacks the platform a cable talk show comedian has.  NBC Nightly News averaged 7.8 million viewers this past week.  The Daily Show averages about 1.8 million.  You have a platform, Brian Williams, you just refuse to actually do anything with your platform, in favor of “Well, the Republicans say that Barack Obama is an evil socialist, fascist menace; the White House disagrees.”  I exaggerate, but not by much.

It’s a shame too, because I genuinely enjoy Brian Williams, and he’s one of my favorite guests that appear on the Daily Show.

[via You Do Have A Platform! – The Daily Dish.]

Where Muni turnstiles go to die…, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.

SF Muni is in the process of upgrading the turnstiles in all their underground stations. Here, a pile of old turnstiles sits abandoned in a corner of Powell Station.

Interestingly enough, while taking this photo, the newly installed turnstiles (which have weird, automatic gates) were out of order.

Originally posted as a discussion on gdgt.

Since I've had my iPhone 4, I've noticed that I've been using my other cameras less and less. My poor Nikon D300 and even my S90 remain either at home or in my bag. It's simply easier to pull a phone out of my pocket and take a quick snap. Especially now that the quality of pictures (at least in decently lit to well lit settings) are pretty good!

I've been playing with *a lot* of iOS camera applications. I'd be willing to wager that I have more photography apps on my iPhone that any other type of application. Here's a rundown of some of my favorites. It's by no means a comprehensive or complete list!

1. Hipstamatic ($1.99)
hipstamaticapp.com/
I think this is easily on everyone's list. The vintage effects are pretty cool, plus there's a number of different lenses and film types available (for purchase) that you can play with. In my opinion, the only downside of this app is that you can only use it for live photos -- that is to say, you can't import images from your library. The developers claim that they do this to capture the live and spontaneous nature of photography. While I agree in principle, sometimes I'd like to have the option to take an image and just post-process it however I want.
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /rockbandit /4601082...

2. Incredibooth ($0.99)
incredibooth.com/
(iPhone 4 only) It's made by the same developers who created Hipstamatic, and is aptly described as a "photo booth in your pocket." It's a fun application when hanging out with friends. It utilizes the front facing camera, so it's iPhone 4 only. You have the choice of 3 different lenses and it takes a series of 4 photos in quick succession. It's one of those applications that instantly put a smile on anyone's face when they see it in action. It's extremely well executed.
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /mariss007 /47867714...

3. Autostich ($2.99)
www.cloudburstresearch.com /autostitch /au...
Want to create panoramic photos with your iPhone? Autostitch provides an easy way to do it. First, you need to take a series of photos using the native camera application. Then you open up AutoStich, select your photos and it auto detects edges and overlap and creates a pretty seamless panoramic photo! One of the things I dislike about this app -- the fact that you have to take the images first and then open up the app. I wish there was a way to take the images within the app (while still saving each discrete image to your photo library, should you choose to). Also, it hasn't been updated in awhile. Not that it necessarily needs it, but I'm curious to see what sorts of improvements the developer can make to it, especially since they aren't the only app of this type in the iOS photography space.
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /rockbandit /3804256...

4. OldCamera ($0.99)
www.freshapps.com /old -camera/ (non-official link)
This app creates old time looking photos using a number of black and white / greyscale / sepia / vignetting effects. I enjoy the pictures it creates, but sadly, it limits the photos it outputs to a max of 1600 pixels. Also, you can only shoot photos from within the application, so that means no importing some amazing photo that you took.
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /rockbandit /4803094...

5. Polarize (free!)
www.apptism.com /apps /polarize
Simple! It creates photos with a polaroid style border and applies the appropriate effects (increased saturation, vignetting). You can take a photo from within the app or import something from your library. Sadly, this is another that hasn't been updated in a long time, but you can't beat the price of free!
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /martino _pietropoli...

6. You Gotta See This! ($1.99)
www.boinx.com /seethis/
(iPhone 4 only) This app uses the gyroscope within the new iPhone 4 to create a panograph. This is similar to a panoramic photo, however the photos are overlaid on top of each other in a rather non-blended fashion. It creates a pretty cool effect that previously took me a LONG time to recreate using Photoshop. I wish the pictures it output were a bit higher resolution. But it's pretty unique when taking photos of buildings and various landmarks that are either very tall or very wide.
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /rockbandit /4860163...

7. TiltShift Generator ($0.99)
artandmobile.com /tiltshift/
Have you ever seen those forced perspective images that create crazy depth of field illusions (where everything looks miniature)? Originally, it required an expensive lens (or some Photoshop trickery). Some zany developers created an Adobe AIR app and eventually ported it to the iPhone. Now you can create your own tilt-shifted images. When used correctly, the results are pretty stunning!
Example: www.flickr.com /photos /greyvdm /4447376166...

8. Camera+ (was $1.99, temporarily unavailable)
campl.us/
There are a number of applications that have added functionality to the iOS's native camera client -- grid lines, digital zoom, timed images, etc. Camera+ was one of the most unique and well executed apps in this category. Recently, they added a novel concept via a URL hack. It allowed users to take photos using one of the volume buttons on their iPhone. Unfortunately, this ran afoul of the rules and rightly or wrongly, their app has been pulled from the App Store. Hopefully we'll see an updated version back in the near future!
Example: I wouldn't really say I have any examples, since it's just an enhanced camera app.

9. Cam-u-flage ($1.99)
www.sebastianarena.net /ourApplications /c...
This is basically a spy camera application. You can set the screen on your iPhone to various backgrounds (or just display a black screen). Turn off the sound, and start tapping anywhere on your screen to discreetly take photos or video. Creepy? Absolutely. But as someone who rides public transportation almost everyday, it can be amazing to document the interesting people one encounters on their daily trips.
Example: www.facebook.com /photo.php ?pid =3556867 &a...

What are some of your favorite camera apps?

Decided to try and tackle Paradise Loop today. By far the longest cycling ride I’ve yet gone on. 45 miles later, I’m ready to pass out.

Here’s the route as recorded by Runmeter on my iPhone 4.

Here are some of the raw statistics output from Runmeter:

Ride Time: 4:46:04
Stopped Time: 23:23
Distance: 45.41 miles
Average: 9.52 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 28.06 miles/h
Climb: 1916 feet
Calories: 2272

A little slower than I’d like, but hey! There were some hills toward the end of the ride (coming out of Sausalito and approaching the Golden Gate Bridge) that were rough for me to deal with. Made it though!

Now, every joint in my body is sore.

Finally, here are a few photos from the ride.

Playing a game at the office., originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.

Sssshhhhh! We’re hard at work at gdgt HQ!

It’s such a rough life. 🙂

My old office

In what seems like another lifetime, I used to be a geologist for an environmental consulting company here in the Bay Area. One of my biggest fears was drilling through a gas line.

We were often in the field, supervising remediation projects or gathering data in preparation for a remediation project. This often involved gathering soil and rock samples while drilling a series of boreholes that ranged anywhere from 3 feet in depth to around 100 feet in depth.

Before we ever drilled on a site, we consulted numerous maps and hired a company to carry out a USA (underground service alert) survey. The objective of a USA survey was to detect any utilities (gas, water, electricity) and mark them on the ground so that any drilling or excavation work wouldn’t impact said utilities.

This is what all the crazy markings you see all over a sidewalk or on a street mean.

While working on a project in Ukiah a few years ago, we marked a series of spots to drill and had a survey company make sure our spots were clear of any subsurface obstructions. Then we had a drill rig come out and start putting down boreholes.

Midway through the first day of drilling, we were sitting at our logging table when we heard a loud rushing sounds followed by frantic shouts. We looked up in time to see a 30 foot geyser of water shoot up through the top of rig’s tower and the workers scrambling away from the site.

We promptly contacted one of the property owners who turned off the water. After surveying the mess (a lot of muddy ground and a very wet drill rig), it turns out we had drilled right through the middle of an old asbestos cement water main about 6 feet below the surface. It never appeared on any site maps nor did the company conducting the USA survey detect it.

Since the pipe contained asbestos, special care had to be taken to clean up and repair the main, which involved masks for air filtration and disposable Tyvek suits.

Fortunately, it was only a water main (and not a very big one, at that), but it’s something that I was extremely paranoid about in future drilling operations that we conducted.

What if, through sloppy work, unmarked maps, or some other coincidence, it was a gas main? It’s a thought that still scares me today.

Last night’s explosion of a PG&E natural gas line in San Bruno was a horrifying experience. One can’t imagine what that must be like to lose your home, possessions, memories, and potentially even family in a heartbeat.

In addition to the sad news from San Bruno, this morning, there was news of minor explosion in a PG&E vault in San Francisco.

Another one?

Let’s take a stroll through recent history of vault explosions in San Francisco.

Vault fire at Polk and O’Farrell in June 2009

Aug 2005 – Vault explosion at Post and Kearny
Jun 2008 – Underground explosion shakes SF Financial District
Jun 2009 – Underground explosion at Polk and O’Farrell
Jul 2009 – Underground explosion at 4th and Market
Jan 2010 – Underground vault fire at Geary and Jones
Jun 2010 – Vault explosion in Pac Heights
Sep 2010 – Vault fire at Sutter and Montgomery
Mar 2011 – Underground Explosion Closes Post And Grant

After the explosion in 2005, PG&E decided to check all 550 underground vaults in San Francisco. Check out this article from the SF Chronicle. Sounds like they did a great job.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will begin inspecting about 550 underground electric vaults in San Francisco today following a power transformer explosion last week that critically injured a woman.

According to company officials, the inspection is expected to take five weeks and will focus first on 150 transformers that have not been inspected this year.

An explosion in an underground vault at Post and Kearny streets Friday shot a tower of flame into the air, blowing a manhole cover 30 feet, burning a pedestrian and setting the awnings of the Polo Ralph Lauren store on fire.