The first photo was taken in January of 2020. One of the last times I was in the Coffee Zone. The second photo was taken about a week ago. My life hasn’t really changed all that much. I have discovered a nice strong filter can takes a few years off. And once it was difficult to find a photo of me without a beer in my hand, these days it tends to be a phone.
More of a “how does this baby work” than a review. Runs 4 min
When I started messing around with video there were no smart phones; no YouTube or Vimeo; no social media. And while most of the gear changed over the years, my lighting was usually a couple of desk lamps that made me look like I was being interrogated.
When the pandemic hit and we started seeing lots of folks — including some professionals — streaming from their homes, I started noticing some of them using a round light that did a much better job than my little banker’s lamp. So I ordered one.
There are undoubtedly many companies making these but I went with the IVISII Ring light, based on this review:
At $150 it’s something of an indulgence but self-indulgence is what I’m all about these days. Once we get it we’ll share some video and you can decide if it was worth it.
I’ve played with filters over the years but gather they’ve become far more popular in a social media world.
Seems like only yesterday wearing a Blue Tooth earbud/mic made you the subject of derision. A techno-hipster intent on impressing everyone with his hands-free phone calls.
Fast-forward to the Apple AirPods, which also got you some snickers. A lot for snickers. But it turns out AirPods work pretty well and I started seeing them everywhere. The FedEx guy. The crew chief that oversaw our new roof. The guy that mows our yard (yeah, yeah).
The plague hits and Zoom becomes a generic term (“I was zooming all day”). And those TV “at home” interviews? Lots of AirPods. So many that when I see someone wear a big old set of cans I think, poor dweeb.
Like these two guys being interviewed by Bill Maher. I know, I know… superior audio quality!
The battery on my iPhone XS wasn’t holding a charge (I’ve had it a couple of years) so I popped for an iPhone 11 and it arrived yesterday. It feels strange to all them phones given all the other things we do with them. Mine is a camera first and somewhere near the bottom of the list is PHONE.
Barb has had one for a while and the photos she has taken are beautiful so I was eager to play with this feature. My friend George spoke glowingly of the photos he had gotten with the latest iPhone’s Night Mode. If I understand correctly, the phone takes three photos and magically combines them to come up with the best image. The photos below were just “point and shoot” on my part. I’ll probably never get around to researching and fulling understanding (or using) the many features of my new camera/phone.
First photo above using this new feature, the second photo not.
I was in San Francisco attending MacWorld (first and last time) when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone. I didn’t understand or appreciate what a big deal it would be. I didn’t get one that first year but broke down a year later. And have had one ever since.
Here are a couple of more photos from yesterday.
I keep telling myself the iPhone I have is good enough. More than good enough, and I don’t need the latest and greatest. But look at those photos!
Before I tell you about the Fiskars Pruning Stik®, a little about me and tools. I’m not really a tool guy. I’ve got a hammer and pliers and some wrenches and stuff but you’ll not find me trying to fix the washing machine or changing the oil in my truck. But I have a fondness for outdoor power tools.
I’ve had a couple of chainsaws, a weed trimmer and last year I added a pole saw (all Stihl products). I can’t explain it but I enjoy going down into our woods and clearing brush and cutting cedar trees. Not sure how many more years I’ll be able to (safely) do this but for now, it’s something I enjoy.
The Stihl pole saw allows me to trim limbs that you couldn’t get to with the big chainsaw. But it weighs about 15 pounds and gets heavy fast. And we kept seeing dead limbs that were just out of reach of the pole saw.
Barb started researching “extendable tree pruners” and purchased the Pruning Stik® from Fiskars. I think it was about a hundred bucks quickly proved it’s worth. Extends to twelve feet and light enough you can safely stand on a ladder for a few extra feet. We’ve been going nuts with the thing. You wouldn’t think you could exert enough force (at the end of a long pole) to cut a good size limb, but it works like a charm.
I’ll still fire up the pole saw for the bigger jobs but the Pruning Stik is a must-have tool if you have a lot of trees.
I’m starting to see more and more businesses, mostly national chains for now, updating their mobile apps to make it easier to be safe when making purchases. Most local businesses (in Jefferson City, MO) do not have apps so the process is more cumbersome. Ordering from our favorite Chinese restaurant means calling and telling them we’d like to place an order, pay for it over the phone with a credit card, call them when we arrive, and have them bring it out to our car. “Just come inside and pay!” Nooo, we don’t want to come inside. Will you bring it out to our car? After checking with someone in charge, they say okay. Not a big deal but a process that could be improved with an app.