11lb 7oZMG!
Our friends Paul and Kristin taught us a new trick. Apparently, holding him facing forward makes all the difference in the world! Yay, sleep!
Ernest Y. Koe
Smalls things loosely joined.
Month: September, 2011
September 24, 2011
HBN-34X Harbringer Mk II
Lt. Tyrion Draegor stands watch in his Harbinger assault class mech outside the firebase walls; his trusty Firoxi giant firehound stays by its side and keeps a watchful nose out for creepers and the Others. It has been three Standard days since the last onslaught. Draegor’s Dragoons are low on autocannon ammo, water and, most importantly, Irish Whiskey. But today is just another day in the life of a merc; and for now, Green Betsy’s autocannon is still bristling with a full chain of 20mm smart-incendiary rounds, and for a few more hours before the relief dropship hits this godforsaken dustbowl of a planet, it is the same old story of a man and his dog, longing for home.
I haven’t build anything with Legos since Junior High. When I watch Beckett play with his trains and Duplos, I am reminded of the hours I’d spend making things, designing, redesigning, imagining new worlds and creating them; driven by nothing else but an internal desire to realize some internal joy. Intrinsic motivation, if there is a such a thing, feels like the very thing I have been trying to get back to in my adulthood.
September 20, 2011
Vince + Corn
Sketching the past and the future.
September 11, 2011
It Is About Us
I remember.
I remember going downstairs and on to Pleasant Street, Northampton to watch the news from the store TV. CNN was being slow, and I had a bad feeling.
I remember thinking about rushing into NYC, but I chickened out.
I remember cycling through the names and faces of my friends in the city; the vivid sense of anger, fear, the anxiety of the unknown.
On that day, we were all Americans. That has to count for something. We have lost friends, families; we have spent blood and treasure.
Perhaps, now, the healing can finally begin. I hope, that if the last ten years were fiercely about “them,” that the next ten can be fiercely about “us”.
All of us.
I remember.
September 10, 2011
The (Imminent) New Nikon Mirrorless Camera May Not Suck
nikonrumors.com posted specs on the rumored Nikon V1 and J1, compact mirrorless camera system recently.
The following thoughts are an expansion of a comment I posted to that blog earlier today.
I am kind of excited that this is pissing off as many Nikon fanboys as it is, as evidenced by the comments section on nikonrumors. It seems to me that it this is a pretty good indication Nikon is doing something right–that Nikon is leading with Design and not with technical specs first.
I don’t know how good this little camera is going to be, we will all have to wait and see. But what it does tell me is that Nikon is designing for a potentially new market and anticipating one that doesn’t really exist as the moment.
This is a good thing for Nikon, and a pretty radical thing for a traditional Japanese camera company.
If the lenses retract and are fully portable, it would be a very credible replacement for all point and shoots. Point and shoots are dead anyway, thanks to the iPhone. The only reason anyone will carry a better device than a smart phone with a built-in camera in the near future is if they want to get more serious with their creative energies. Right now, even the smallest big-sensor mirrorless cameras like the Olympus E-PL3
Additionally, if this is what I think it is, a pocket-sized Red SCARLET or close to one as the new rumored EXPEED 3 image processing engine suggests, this is going to be potentially revolutionary for the serious video and digital “film” market, which is a segment that is underserved and badly understood.
Think of the Apple iPod entering the crowded USB music player market; could be a similar thing happening here.
This isn’t as sexy as the Fujifilm X100/X10. But, I think the form factor is important,; the clean lines are important. They could be part of a larger design strategy. If this is all retro, it’d be more difficult for third-party players to build add-ons, viewers, finders, mounts, grips and other accessories to complement this camera.
The 1″ (give or take) sensor size means this can probably take a C-mount, cine-type lenses with really nice follow-focus pulls. That’s cool. Already, it looks like it will take accept existing Nikon F-mount lenses with an adapter. Your silky smooth 28mm f/2 AI-S just became a sweet normal-ish video lens. Come to think of it, we’ll probably see adapters for all kinds of lenses in the future. Again, cool.
The key will be storage and how fast this thing can write to card. But with XC cards coming, this may make total sense, (http://www.sdxcs.com/).
Wedding photographers ditching Nikon to get 5DMkIIs may finally have something to grin about. Wedding photographers buying 5DMkIIs and IIIs in the future for its video may have a better option now. Imagine a really portable, creative instrument optimized for movies that can complement cameras and lenses optimized for stills.
As I said, let’s see how this thing does when it gets released. But, from this vantage point, I don’t look at this and say Nikon flopped. I look at this and say they are really thinking about what people want and need.
September 8, 2011
QR Codes Are Stupid
QR codes are the new CueCat.
QR codes, as a marketing tool, are stupid.
It is an anti-pattern of good design.
I am not convinced users want to interact with an over-glorified barcode; I don’t look at a QR code and think, “Wow! I feel so moved to take out my phone, turn on the camera, snap a picture and see what happens.”
QR codes can be wonderful. They don’t have to be evil.
They should be used as tokens, issued to users so they can be redeemed for stuff. The reading of such tokens should be done by the issuer, not the receiver (aka your customers).
Starbucks Mobile Card
Starbuck’s Mobile Card is a winning example of the right way to use barcodes as tokens.
Delta Airlines's Mobile Boarding Pass
Delta’s Mobile Boarding pass is such a joy to use that it is better marketing than any silly QR code driven marketing piece.
September 6, 2011
On Constructive Criticism
Reposting a letter (edited) to my local Jacksonville Photography Meetup Group on the matter of asking for “constructive criticism” of one’s photos.
Some of my thoughts on it can be generalized to life, work and everything else.
***
On “Constructive Criticism”
This is meant as “constructive criticism.”
The phrase seems to be trending on this as well as other photography groups.
I dislike it, and respectfully suggest that we try to transcend its trappings.
Let me explain.
I fully appreciate everyone’s sensitivity to criticism. Getting criticism that is constructive should go without saying. That members of this group and particularly new members feel like we need to make it explicit is a symptom of bigger problems that cannot be solved by invoking that phrase repeatedly.
Giving Criticism
First, if you can’t critique without attacking people personally here, don’t bother. And if you find that sort of style of dialog interesting, feel free to take it to many likeminded groups such as flickr’s Delete Me Uncensored (DMU). This is not a value judgement, you’ll find me there shredding your “crap” as readily as the next “asshat” in the name of fun.
But that is not the norm here at JPMG.
It is not that we need to be milquetoast and tiptoe around everyone’s personal feelings, it is simply that we should respect each other’s maturity, self-confidence and assume that we are deserving of each other’s honest and best good-faith efforts in the interest of advancing our collective art.
Taking Criticism
Second, as the recipient of criticism, no one should feel vulnerable here. You shouldn’t need to ask people to be constructive as if that is the exception instead of the norm. Expect it. Demand it. You’ve earned that right by showing up.
But, you also have a responsibility to suspend your natural sensitivities and to be open minded about what is being offered.
Here’s the thing, criticism is what you make of it.
True, some are more useful than others, but you can choose how you feel about any of them. You are in control. Don’t put the responsibility of feeling emotionally safe in other people’s hands. Yes, expect professional courtesy, it makes the world a better place. But you don’t have to agree; you don’t even have to like it.
If, however, you only want criticism you like to hear, your ego is in the way of real growth. And, that would be the real tragedy.
The goal isn’t to protect our own feelings. The goal is to elevate our art.
When I see photographers asking for “constructive criticism,” my instinct is to be suspicious about their willingness to really engage the conversation; I wonder about their self-esteem and question if I should really invest any time. If you are a pro, you have no reason to be self-conscious. It demeans the process; it is like saying, “give me feedback but please know that I may take issue with the way you are giving it.” Just ask for feedback, take the good, leave the bad, don’t sweat the chumps. If you are new to this group, know that you will always get my best, and most constructive feedback. It just goes without saying.
Humbly yours,
Ernest Koe
September 5, 2011
Tiger Dad #fail?
Yesterday morning was particularly tough.
It started fine, if a bit early, at 6:00 AM. I heard Beckett clamber out of bed, both feet hitting the floor with a convincing thud and up to full speed without missing a beat.
We fell into the usual weekend routine, a little episode of “Elmo,” and a little lazy lounging on the couch.
Then, it started.
Kick.
“Beckett, please don’t kick daddy’s computer,” I said in my best I-really-mean-business voice.
Kick, kick.
“Beckett, I asked you not to kick the computer,” I said askance, “why did you kick it?”
Kick! kick!, kick! as he fixed his gaze on me.
“Beckett, I mean it….”
KICK!
If it was intended to get a rise out of me, it succeeded. Exasperated, I pulled out the “nuclear” option, “Go to the corner, Beckett, you are getting a time out!”
And nuclear it went.
All semblance of order shattered as Beckett disintegrated into one of his unholy tantrums. I picked him up kicking and screaming, determined to force the issue and hold my ground as a little voice in my head chided me, You can’t let him run all over you.
This went on for half an hour. He would escalate, I would withdraw. He would escalate some more, scream louder, cry harder, stomp his feet more pitifully, run to me wailing a jumbled mix of ‘NOooo’s and ‘DadDaddyaHoldDaddyHolMe’s, and through it all, I would grit my teeth and ignore him even more.
Ignore him, don’t reinforce bad behavior, don’t coddle him! Is this what I am supposed to do?
Predictably, it ended in one of the usual patterns. This time C intervened and managed to coax him off the cliff. As his sobs quieted down to a whimper, we hugged, and I tried to explain why daddy got mad.
I don’t suppose I expected him to back down. If it were me, I wouldn’t have. I asked him if he understood what I was trying to tell him, “Yesh,” he replied reflexively, but it felt like that was what he thought I wanted to hear, and the whole thing felt sadly pointless.
I have been turning over this episode in the last 24 hours or so, trying to unpack this complicated mix of emotions about the whole experience. Perhaps, it feels wrong because it was a conscious disciplinary effort, and I am stepping far outside my natural comfort zone. Quite possibly, I am just not that “tough” of a parent, and this feels like an act because it is one.
The thing is, I am not sure I what I’ve accomplished by channeling my inner Tiger Dad. Specifically, I am having deep misgivings about what I thought I was supposed to be doing. If pressed, I might say I was acting to correct a “bad behavior,” and I think I am supposed to correct bad behaviors.
What exactly is bad behavior?
It seems to me that all this assumes that our underlying model about children’s behavior and how to nurture them is right in the first place; that there is a conscious moral component behind children’s behavior (bad vs. good), and our efforts to control them is a good thing in the long run.
I am not so sure. I don’t have all of this worked out, but I think the some of my anxieties about the Tiger Dad approach comes down to the following things:
- It feels coercive and manipulative — that somehow “love” has a price and our relationship is conditional or transactional. “If I don’t do X, Daddy won’t give me Y.” Mostly, I worry that the only “Y” in this equation he cares about is “love.”
- I worry that I am teaching him to modulate his behavior on the basis of external considerations first when what really matters, I think, is not that he behaves properly in a performative sense, but that he does so because he is intrinsically motivated.
- That I am missing some greater, more constructive, more transformative way to teach him about himself and the world.
One slightly tangential thought: are Tiger Bosses considered good leaders or motivators? I haven’t come across any leadership management literature or research that suggests so. Maybe, Steve Jobs is the exception, or maybe he is just badly understood. But it seems to me that we don’t motivate highly effective teams this way; why would we do so with two year olds?
September 5, 2011
Woolly Beasts Outcomes
In the New York Times yesterday,
“Schools are embracing digital learning, but evidence is scarce that the expensive technology is improving educational outcomes.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html
In the Cave People Times 5000 years ago (biblical years) yesterday,
“Cave folk are embracing new stone tablet writing technology, but evidence is scarce that the expensive technology is improving woolly beasts hunting outcomes.”
