Thursday, May 13, 2004
First New Slideshow in a Year!
It's quite literally been a year since I posted my last slideshow. Some photographer I am. Anyway, please enjoy Spring Climbing 2004.
Using Microtek Scanners with OSX
Microtek is one of those flame-worthy companies that puts the Macintosh logo on their product boxes to fool customers into thinking their products are fully Mac OSX compatible. Bungholes. But I've beaten them, mostly, at their incompatibility game.
Their ScanMaker 4850 model, like a lot of consumer-grade scanners, has buttons on the front to perform functions like scan photo, e-mail photo, print photo, etc. According to tech support, the buttons aren't supported on OSX. But I figured out how to make them work:
I bet this procedure would work with other Microtek scanners.
Their ScanMaker 4850 model, like a lot of consumer-grade scanners, has buttons on the front to perform functions like scan photo, e-mail photo, print photo, etc. According to tech support, the buttons aren't supported on OSX. But I figured out how to make them work:
- Install the latest version of the Scanwizard software, if you haven't already.
- You'll get a ScanWizard 5 Folder. Inside is the application Microtek Scanner Configuration (MSC). Launch it.
- Right-click on MSC and select "Keep in Dock."
- Select the "Scan" tab.
- You'll get a number of options. Here are my settings for scanning the standard 4x6 photos you get from Walgreens and such:
Original: Photo
Purpose: Custom Value 300dpi
Scan Type: True Color
Send to Application: None
Scan Frame: Fixed Size, 4x6 Landscape (or Portrait, depending on whether the photo is horizontal or vertical)
Save In: Wherever you want
Filename: Whatever you want. It will use the same name each time, and append a three-digit number starting with the second scan. "Scanned Photo 001," for example. So don't scan more than 1,000 photos. :-)
File Format: TIFF. This gives you an uncompressed scan. You can always compress to JPEG later. - Without closing MSC, press the Scan button on the scanner (the left-most one). MSC will scan the photo, save it in the location you selected, and promptly crash.
- Hit OK to close the crash notification window, then launch MSC again.
- While MSC is loading, put another photo on the scanner. By the time you've taken the old one off and put the new one on, MSC will be loaded.
- Hit Scan again, rinse, and repeat.
I bet this procedure would work with other Microtek scanners.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Climbers Rise Above the Primates
From rockclimbing.com:
Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo invited five climbers to test out its new ape house and discovered that the "escape-proof" exhibit was not as secure as they'd hoped. The 12,000-square-foot outdoor yard of the exhibit is guarded by a 12-foot overhanging wall. Five climbers volunteered to test the wall and, with bouldering pads at its base, they quickly found six routes to the top, ranging in difficulty from V0 to V4. The zoo now will go back to the drawing board and try to eliminate the small holds on the wall; they've promised to invite the climbers
back in June for another round of testing before the apes move in.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Does Everyone Else Have an Innate Sense of Direction?
The business world discriminates against me, and I think I know why.
Everywhere I turn there are signs explaining how to find something or other based on cardinal directions:
"Please use the west door."
"The automatic hand dryer is located on the south wall."
The first I can somewhat understand. Outside a building, one can rely on the position of the sun or knowledge of the layout of surrounding streets to determine which way west is. But the second example -- c'mon, I'm inside a freakin' bathroom, for crying out loud! I can't see the streets, and I'm dealing with a place where the sun don't shine, literally and figuratively. Why not tell me the dryer is behind me? (Further, why not say it's hidden behind the bathroom stall door?) Why not say, "Please use the door to your left"?
I'm convinced it's because everyone who didn't have a tummyache on the one day they covered cardinal directions in elementary school wants to maintain their hegemony over me. I should grab a big fat permanent marker to edit all those offending signs hither and yon -- but I might not get the directions right.
Everywhere I turn there are signs explaining how to find something or other based on cardinal directions:
"Please use the west door."
"The automatic hand dryer is located on the south wall."
The first I can somewhat understand. Outside a building, one can rely on the position of the sun or knowledge of the layout of surrounding streets to determine which way west is. But the second example -- c'mon, I'm inside a freakin' bathroom, for crying out loud! I can't see the streets, and I'm dealing with a place where the sun don't shine, literally and figuratively. Why not tell me the dryer is behind me? (Further, why not say it's hidden behind the bathroom stall door?) Why not say, "Please use the door to your left"?
I'm convinced it's because everyone who didn't have a tummyache on the one day they covered cardinal directions in elementary school wants to maintain their hegemony over me. I should grab a big fat permanent marker to edit all those offending signs hither and yon -- but I might not get the directions right.
Friday, April 23, 2004
Flatlands to Face Climbing in Fifty-Eight Hours
Last weekend I and 30 flatlanders from that outdoor-climbing Gehenna of the United States -- Lincoln, Nebraska -- took the classic weekend trip to Colorado. You know, the one where you beg your boss or professor to leave early on Friday, then get back so late Sunday night you're a zombie til Tuesday.
The way too wise Kate pointed out correctly that trips like this are more about the people than the climbing. So in that spirit, this climbing journal talks very little about the climbing that went on (though it was excellent), and focuses instead on the fun times had along the way. For easy reference I use the tried and true "Five F's of Climbing Journals" -- Food, Falls, Funnies, Flippin' Cookies and Fotos. Enjoy.
Food:
After climbing all Saturday at Shelf Road the whole gang went to Pizza Madness in downtown Canon City, where the cheese is so greasy you could stick a wick in it and light it. (That means it was the best pizza cheese many had ever eaten.) The joint's name probably derives from the wall murals, which feature three-dimensional renderings of: a) aliens crashing their UFO through the wall; b) various and sundry odd and scary-looking people, including a demonic-looking cat, feeding each other pizza; and c) gigantic bugs eating pizza.
Great fun was had by all except the staff, who must have recently angered the gods. Our group of 30 (one person didn't come) was closely followed by another group of 30. No kidding. To make matters worse (for them), we seem to have taken the tables set for the other group, by virtue of our early arrival for our reservation. This caused quite the pitter-pattering of managerial feet. Lucky the place had plenty of open tables available for shoving into place while the other group stared at us.
Pizza Madness also offered the day's first access to running water, so the line ran out the door as all the guys took sink showers. Later that night Jami may or may not have paid $3 to get her hair washed and styled at the Super Wal-Mart's beauty shop; if John, Tim or Nate told you, they'd have to kill you.
Sharon made some delicious Rice Krispies bars and, displaying the same attention to detail that keeps her glued to the tiniest toe chip, wrapped them individually in waxed paper. On Saturday she graciously shared them with Jon, Tim, Jami and John, but as her supply dwindled her protectiveness increased. When she was attempting to simultaneously perform a difficult camping-related task and eat a Rice Krispies bar, Tim offered to hold the latter for her. Wisely realizing the bar's mass would be significantly diminished upon its return, Sharon declined Tim's assistance.
Falls:
A Nebraska-like wind blast blew Nate off a Garden of the Gods face climb, his first outdoor lead and his first attempt at placing his own quickdraws on lead. Nate was 10 feet above his protection and about to clip the next draw when the wind knocked him off and almost knocked his belayer, Sharon, down. Nate's left leg caught the rope and flipped him, but he suffered only two jammed fingers on his first outdoor fall. Jami, a nurse, provided half-melted ice in a Wal-Mart sack while John contributed a (clean) sock in which to wrap the whole mess.
Funnies:
Jon achieved a one hour and three-minute telling of the Groovy Little Monks story which, believe it or not, is not his personal record. Bing, bing, BONG!
Flippin' Cookies:
Kevin forgot that altitude triples alcohol's effects so he, after imbibing a quantity of drinks appropriate for Nebraska's elevation, decorated the Colorado elevation with pink piles o' puke. Light sleeper John enjoyed a bit of the hurling before inserting his handy-dandy earplugs and drifting away in comfort thanks to the fine folks at the ThermaRest corporation.
Fotos:
Later on the road to the Garden of the Gods John, leading the way, noticed Ann pulling abruptly to the shoulder. John pulled over to render assistance (well, honestly, he would have stood around while the more mechanically aptituded Nate assisted). He ended up pulling out his camera as Kevin stumbled from Ann's gorgeous late-model SUV to flip some more cookies. John's car erupted in laughter as he snapped three photos of the flippage, then sped away.
Notes:
1. Last names have been omitted to protect the guilty.
2. Written from one person's perspective, this journal can't hope to cover more than a tiny fraction of all the fun that was had. If you were on this trip, please add to the account by posting comments with additional stories or links to stories elsewhere.
The way too wise Kate pointed out correctly that trips like this are more about the people than the climbing. So in that spirit, this climbing journal talks very little about the climbing that went on (though it was excellent), and focuses instead on the fun times had along the way. For easy reference I use the tried and true "Five F's of Climbing Journals" -- Food, Falls, Funnies, Flippin' Cookies and Fotos. Enjoy.
Food:
After climbing all Saturday at Shelf Road the whole gang went to Pizza Madness in downtown Canon City, where the cheese is so greasy you could stick a wick in it and light it. (That means it was the best pizza cheese many had ever eaten.) The joint's name probably derives from the wall murals, which feature three-dimensional renderings of: a) aliens crashing their UFO through the wall; b) various and sundry odd and scary-looking people, including a demonic-looking cat, feeding each other pizza; and c) gigantic bugs eating pizza.
Great fun was had by all except the staff, who must have recently angered the gods. Our group of 30 (one person didn't come) was closely followed by another group of 30. No kidding. To make matters worse (for them), we seem to have taken the tables set for the other group, by virtue of our early arrival for our reservation. This caused quite the pitter-pattering of managerial feet. Lucky the place had plenty of open tables available for shoving into place while the other group stared at us.
Pizza Madness also offered the day's first access to running water, so the line ran out the door as all the guys took sink showers. Later that night Jami may or may not have paid $3 to get her hair washed and styled at the Super Wal-Mart's beauty shop; if John, Tim or Nate told you, they'd have to kill you.
Sharon made some delicious Rice Krispies bars and, displaying the same attention to detail that keeps her glued to the tiniest toe chip, wrapped them individually in waxed paper. On Saturday she graciously shared them with Jon, Tim, Jami and John, but as her supply dwindled her protectiveness increased. When she was attempting to simultaneously perform a difficult camping-related task and eat a Rice Krispies bar, Tim offered to hold the latter for her. Wisely realizing the bar's mass would be significantly diminished upon its return, Sharon declined Tim's assistance.
Falls:
A Nebraska-like wind blast blew Nate off a Garden of the Gods face climb, his first outdoor lead and his first attempt at placing his own quickdraws on lead. Nate was 10 feet above his protection and about to clip the next draw when the wind knocked him off and almost knocked his belayer, Sharon, down. Nate's left leg caught the rope and flipped him, but he suffered only two jammed fingers on his first outdoor fall. Jami, a nurse, provided half-melted ice in a Wal-Mart sack while John contributed a (clean) sock in which to wrap the whole mess.
Funnies:
Jon achieved a one hour and three-minute telling of the Groovy Little Monks story which, believe it or not, is not his personal record. Bing, bing, BONG!
Flippin' Cookies:
Kevin forgot that altitude triples alcohol's effects so he, after imbibing a quantity of drinks appropriate for Nebraska's elevation, decorated the Colorado elevation with pink piles o' puke. Light sleeper John enjoyed a bit of the hurling before inserting his handy-dandy earplugs and drifting away in comfort thanks to the fine folks at the ThermaRest corporation.
Fotos:Later on the road to the Garden of the Gods John, leading the way, noticed Ann pulling abruptly to the shoulder. John pulled over to render assistance (well, honestly, he would have stood around while the more mechanically aptituded Nate assisted). He ended up pulling out his camera as Kevin stumbled from Ann's gorgeous late-model SUV to flip some more cookies. John's car erupted in laughter as he snapped three photos of the flippage, then sped away.
Notes:
1. Last names have been omitted to protect the guilty.
2. Written from one person's perspective, this journal can't hope to cover more than a tiny fraction of all the fun that was had. If you were on this trip, please add to the account by posting comments with additional stories or links to stories elsewhere.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Why I Love /.
Two reasons I love Slashdot, known to (some of) the geek cognoscenti by the more efficient moniker /. :
1. I'm a hopeless geek.
2. Quotes like this about a replica of the Back to the Future Delorean time machine: "This thing is clearly a chick magnet, and if you can't get them on the first pass, you can always crank it up to 88 mph and go back in time to try it again!"
1. I'm a hopeless geek.
2. Quotes like this about a replica of the Back to the Future Delorean time machine: "This thing is clearly a chick magnet, and if you can't get them on the first pass, you can always crank it up to 88 mph and go back in time to try it again!"
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Slow Boat to China
Dearest seven readers, you may have noticed johnfulwider.com loading slower than a new climber rapelling off a 100-foot overhanging cliff. Turns out there's a reason for it. I just found out today that I'm hosted on a server in ... drum roll, please ... Hong Kong!
My hosting provider, ICDSoft, would be pleased as punch to move me to a U.S. server on request. That's cool, but wouldn't your hosting service sales script include a little function that puts U.S. customers on U.S. servers? :-)
I'm not dogging on ICDSoft. They've been good to me, answering support tickets in under two minutes, or faster than an experienced climber whacked out on Red Bull and about to do an Australian rappel. Whee!
My hosting provider, ICDSoft, would be pleased as punch to move me to a U.S. server on request. That's cool, but wouldn't your hosting service sales script include a little function that puts U.S. customers on U.S. servers? :-)
I'm not dogging on ICDSoft. They've been good to me, answering support tickets in under two minutes, or faster than an experienced climber whacked out on Red Bull and about to do an Australian rappel. Whee!
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