
Tron Guy and I, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.
Some would say this was the happiest moment of my life. Those people would be correct.Ā
life, coding, technology, outdoors, photography
Tron Guy and I, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.
Some would say this was the happiest moment of my life. Those people would be correct.Ā
Next stop, Boston!, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.
Too many rules, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.
Signs in the bathroom at our office building.
Tea and (e) books, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.
Iām living the total yuppy life style here! What you donāt see is that Iām holding a triple double soy mocha frappuccino latte in each hand.
Alright, so someone keeps emailing me, thinking they have someone else named Dave Schumaker. This actually happens a lot. After receiving a number of recent forwarded joke emails, I decided to respond. Check out conversation.
It reminds me of this earlier thread I wrote, about receiving strange email.
Update: I just realized that itās the same Donna in that post!
From: Donna M.
Date: September 17, 2010 3:10:41 PM PDT
To: Dave Schumaker
Subject: FW: Poor mushroomForwarded message:
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:26:44 -0400
From: [some random person I donāt know]
To: [some other random person I donāt know]
CC: [a bunch of random people I donāt know] Subject: Fwd: Poor mushroom
This is the second or third random forward Iāve gotten from her. I considered adding a filter to my account, but I thought that maybe, I should inform this person they have the wrong email address.
Subject: Re: Poor mushroom
From: Dave Schumaker
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:12:34 -0700
To: Donna M.I think you have the wrong Dave Schumakerās email address.
Best,
-Dave
There, I think that does the trick! Wait ā I just got a reply from her,
From: Donna M.
Subject: RE: Poor mushroom
Date: September 17, 2010 3:42:22 PM PDT
To: Dave SchumakerI donāt think so š
Mom
What?!
You are not my Mom! I have NO IDEA who you are!
Update! I just received a follow up email. It looks like things have been cleared up, folks! It looks like I only have one mother again.
From: Donna M.
Subject: RE: Poor mushroom
Date: September 17, 2010 4:54:53 PM PDT
To: Dave SchumakerSo, so sorry I just talked to my son and I did have the wrong e-mail. Again, Iām sorry
A lot has changed since Civ IV has been released.
Since then, Iāve apparently adopted the full-on hipster lifestyle as I work at a savy web startup here in San Francisco. Obviously, that means that all my computers are now Macs. (I donated the last PC I built to some family members last year ā before that, it was relegated to a bed stand beside my bed.)
Anyway, Iām literally dying at the thought of not being able to play Civ V.
So, Iām considering my options. Here they are:
1. Install WinXP (I still have my legit installation CD! Can you believe it? Remember when operating systems fit on CDās, instead of DVDās? Letās not forget floppy disks eitherā¦) in a Bootcamp partition. What this does is basically create a dual booting operating system on my laptop. Pros: Itās basically like running Windows on a normal computer (no performance hit, etc). Cons: I have to reboot my computer every single time I want to play (which will be often). Fortunately, most of the work I do is either in a web browser or text editor, so not too big of a loss. Cost to me: $0 (besides buying Civ V)
2. Install WinXP in a VM such a Parallels or VM Ware Fusion. Parallels just announced a new version that apparently increases performance of the guest operating system as a whole, and even improves the graphics capabilities of programs running within it. Pros: I donāt have to reboot my computer every time I want to play Civ V (face it, itās going to be running 24/7). Plus these VMs have come a long way. I can run Windows applications nearly seamlessly, right alongside my Mac. In fact, I used to play a few Windows only games this way (this is a story for another time)! Cons: Performance generally blows. Running a full on operating system within another takes a lot of processing power and memory. And leaves little else (especially when youāre running intensive apps WITHIN that O/S!) Cost to me: ~$80 USD as I need to buy either Parallels or Fusion.
3. Install Crossover. Crossover is an ingenious app that allows Linux or OS X users to run a number of Windows games on their computers without installing the operating system itself. It recreates a number of the Windows DLLs (completely legally) and tries to sort of āemulateā the Windows environment. People have had Half Life, Civ IV (I used to play it this way), Quake and other games running pretty well! Pros: I used to play Civ IV nearly flawlessly this way, even through Steam! Plus, I donāt have to install Windows on my machine. Cons: It doesnāt always support the latest games and it takes awhile for the code to be updated in order to support something that might not work. Itās kind of hit or miss. AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS. Cost to me: $0 (Technically, itās ~$40 USD, but I already own a Crossover license)
4. Suck it up and buy / build a new computer. Iāve though about this. I really have! Itās tempting. And I have to say, between having a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, various iOS devices⦠I donāt game much on a computer anymore (and I genuinely miss it!). And the only thing I would be buying a PC for would be for Civilization V. There arenāt too many PC only games on the horizon that I am interested in. Pros: Full on, double computing power for playing Civ V! Itās so intense. Cons: Iād have to buy a new computer. And it would only be for Civ. Cost to me: ~$500+ USD.
Are any of you facing a similar dilemma? Even if youāre not, what do you think you would do?
Nikon announced their successor to the D90, the Nikon D7000 (what is up with these model numbers?). Iāve thought about potentially purchasing a new camera at some point in not too distant future. My Nikon D300 is still serving me well though and ultimately, Iād like to upgrade to a full frame camera (hello, D700 successor?).
That said, this still sounds like a great camera thatās reasonably priced for the feature set. Itāll probably have great lowlight capabilities and make a fantastic backup body.
*High Resolution 16.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor for large prints and tight cropping
*High Speed 6 frames per second continuous shooting up to 100 shots captures the most fleeting action
*Ground-breaking 2,016-pixel RGB (3D Color Matrix) sensor delivers more accurate control of light metering and optimizes the Scene Recognition System for exposure, white balance, focus tracking and iTTL flash control
*EXPEED 2 image processing and 14-bit A/D Conversion provides smooth tones, rich colors, and fast camera performance
*Large Bright Glass Pentaprism Optical Viewfinder with approx. 100% frame coverage and approx. 0.94x magnification
*Twin SD Card Slots with SD, SDHC, SDXC memory card compatibility gives you options to keep on shooting or separate your NEF (RAW), JPEG and movie files
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:
āJon has chronicled the death of shame in politics and journalism,ā says Brian Williams, the NBC Nightly News anchor who is a frequent Daily Show guest. āMany of us on this side of the journalism tracks often wish we were on Jonās side. I envy his platform to shout from the mountaintop. Heās a necessary branch of government.ā
Thatās why the country is screwed, on a fundamental level.Ā A ājournalistā (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.Ā NBC Nightly News averaged 7.8 million viewers this past week.Ā The Daily Show averages about 1.8 million.Ā You have a platform, Brian Williams, you just refuse to actually do anything with your platform, in favor of āWell, the Republicans say that Barack Obama is an evil socialist, fascist menace; the White House disagrees.āĀ I exaggerate, but not by much.
Itās a shame too, because I genuinely enjoy Brian Williams, and heās one of my favorite guests that appear on the Daily Show.
Where Muni turnstiles go to dieā¦, 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.