alakai's corner of the web

Need a new lens?

alakai — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 23:02:09 +0000

I have to admit I’ve been bitten by the photography bug and it doesn’t seem to be letting go anytime soon. One daunting aspect of photography is trying to find a good quality lens to meet your needs.

Enter LensHero, a well crafted site that begs the question “why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?” Simply enter in your camera model, select your budget (because we all can’t afford a $1400 lens… or $800, or maybe even $400) and lens type (telephoto, macro, low light, etc), and LensHero does the rest. Results are then broken down by several specifications that allow easy comparison between the selection (min\max focal lengths, zoom range, weight, etc).

Of course specs aren’t everything. A lens with great specs on paper can still produce less stellar images. To help supplement this aspect, each lens also allows member reviews and comments to help sculpt an objective review. Reviews are also moderated so we hopefully won’t have to wade through 10 comments screaming “OMG thiz lens is teh suck!”

Overall, this site has real promise. The keys to make it successful will be ensuring product remains fresh and current, as well continual feedback by its members. The site will only be as good as those who help contribute.

Be A Hero: Bungie’s Haiti Relief Effort

alakai — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:10:27 +0000

This taken directly from Friday’s Bungie update. If you’re looking to pick up some Bungie swag, there’s no better time than now when your purchases will help those who lost so much. And if you can’t afford anything in the store, support the effort by wearing the in-game emblem listed below and Bungie will donate up to $77,000 to the American Red Cross.

Be a Hero!
Posted by urk at 1/15/2010 4:48 PM PST
Bungie fans, we’re asking you to step up, "Be a Hero," and help us help Haiti.
At 4:53pm on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake swept through the Republic of Haiti and shook the nation to its knees. We’ve watched in shock, horror, and sadness as men, women, and children scramble amidst the rubble looking for friends, family, and loved-ones. We struggle to make sense of it and can’t help but feel helpless as we witness their struggle for survival from afar. Sadly, the situation is only getting worse.
For some of us, this is a grim reminder of our own tragedies. We hear echoes of the ocean spilling into the streets of New Orleans. We recall broken buildings slipping away from our skylines, falling into dust. And as shattered families in Haiti begin their own relief and rescue effort, we are reminded that the divide between our nations and our peoples is not so wide, that we are not so different, and that we are not so helpless.
We can do something. We can make a difference. But we can’t do it alone. We’re calling on the Bungie community. We’re asking for your help.

BE A HERO!
Right now, in the Bungie Store, you’ll find a special edition of our Superintendent tee. Pick one up and we’ll donate 100% of our profits directly to the relief efforts through the American Red Cross.

BUY BUNGIE SWAG, HELP OTHERS!
In addition to the special shirt, from now until the end of February, we will be donating all of Bungie’s profits from the Bungie Store directly to the American Red Cross. If you had your eye on a sweet Bungie hoodie or bag, there’s never been a better time to buy than now since that money will go right to supporting a great cause. Please note that this really only applies to Bungie apparel and accessories in our online store – if you wanted to add an HD TV or Xbox 360 game to your cart at checkout, Bungie doesn’t actually see any real proceeds from those 3rd party items.

PLAY HALO & WE’LL DONATE $77,000!
So, you want to help but don’t have a way to get one of our shirts or make a monetary donation? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with the easiest possible way to be a hero – playing Halo!

We are rallying our fan community to show their support by playing Halo 3 or ODST online next Wednesday or Thursday while wearing a special emblem signifying your commitment to the cause. For every thousand heroes that participate, we will make a $100 donation on behalf of Bungie and our fan community to the Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts, up to a maximum of $77,000. All you have to do is don a special emblem and play a game online and know that you’ve done a small part to help those in need.
Please mark your calendars and help spread the word!
Here are the specifics:
1. Round up all of your friends and hop online with Halo 3 or ODST any time next from 00:01AM PST Wednesday, 1/20, through 23:59PM PST Thursday 1/21.
2. Edit your appearance settings so your character is wearing the RED HEART emblem.
a. Press START
b. Select “SETTINGS” / “APPEARANCE”
c. Select “EMBLEM”
d. Select “Hearts” ICON, “Circle” BACKGROUND
e. Back out to the APPEARANCES menu and select “COLORS”
f. Set “EMBLEM PRIMARY” to RED (or MAROON / BRICK / ROSE depending on which game you’re playing!)
g. Set “EMBLEM SECONDARY” to WHITE
3. Once your emblem is set, play! This can be a custom game or a matchmaking game, just make sure it’s played online, on Xbox LIVE, or we can’t track it.
If you keep playing more games through midnight on Thursday, KEEP THE HEART EMBLEM ENABLED or you may not get counted.
But wait, there’s more! We want to see your screenshots and hear the stories about your experiences. Take screenshots from your games and tag them on Bungie.net with “HERO” so we can capture the moment. We’ll go through and find screens we like and send some of you the special “Be a Hero!” Superintendent t-shirts we’re offering at the Bungie Store as a small token of our gratitude for your support.

DO YOUR PART!
These are but three small ways you and your friends can do your part to lend a hand to those in need. If you would simply like to make a cash donation, we urge you to visit the American Red Cross website, or any other charitable organization you’re comfortable with, and do just that. For more information about various charities, check out www.charitynavigator.org/.

Thanks For Playing!
In light of these recent events, there will be no update on Halo: Reach’s development this week. No poorly wrought prose or corny jokes. No Blame Stosh. It just doesn’t feel right. I’ll make it up to you in the future. I promise.
For now, we ask that you focus on spreading the word to all reaches of the community. In 2005, we asked for your charity in our “Fight the Flood” campaign to help fund relief efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and we were floored by the overwhelming outpouring of charity and support you put on display. Let’s do it again.
Love, Bungie.

sunrise

alakai — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

I woke up this morning dreading a 6am flight. Actually the 6am part isn’t the hard part, it’s getting up at 3am to check out of the hotel, drive to the airport, and run through the TSA hurdles. Wouldn’t you know it that that day my internal clock finally acclimates from Central Time to Pacific. A week of waking up at 4am because my body thinks it’s 6. The day I have to wake up at 3am, my body thinks it’s… 3am.

Hurry to the airport…. and wait.

Hurry to board the airplane… and wait.

Hurry to the runway… and wait.

20 minute delay on the runway of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor due to inclement weather in Chicago. Wonderful.

I find irony in the thought of an airport with “harbor” in its name. Or is it the fact that the word“harbor” is used in one of the most arid and waterless states in the country? Or is it going to a harbor in order to board a plane called an airbus?

Looking forward to being back home.

So true, so true…

alakai — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:59:44 +0000

created by GeneralCupcakes,/i>

When did "Chicago" become a bad word?

alakai — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:48:31 +0000

I decided to update my motto\bio on Xbox Live this morning. As I entered through my existing location field – set to "Chicago Burbs" because that’s where I’m from – I received an error stating that my location "contains a word or phrase that isn’t allowed. Please try again."

The Xbox censors are

I suddenly began to wonder if I was no longer hip enough to realize that "burbs" had some alternate illicit meaning that caused was being blocked. I even double checked Urban Dictionary to make sure. But no…. it wasn’t "burbs" that was blocked, it’s "Chicago!" Granted, the state of Illinois has been in the news recently since we apparently can’t elect a governor that isn’t corrupt, but why is Chicago blocked from the location field? The funniest part about this is that "Chicago" can still be used in the motto field. What gives? Does xbox.com have something against us chicagoans?

Choose the face that best describes how you feel…

alakai — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:39:39 +0000

What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger

alakai — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:47:49 +0000

“To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be happy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.”

– Woody Allen

ghosts

alakai — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:47:30 +0000

I saw a ghost the other day. Not the floating spectral orb many claim to be ghosts, but more like the shadow you see out of the corner of your eye for an instant, a movement from one room to another right out of your peripheral vision. That feeling of presence you get even if you’re alone.

Some people say ghosts exist due to a traumatic death that shocks the spirit into not realizing its no longer alive- doomed to repeat the same task over and over for all eternity. Oddly enough, the opposite can be said for some people. Doomed to repeat the same task over and over again, while not realizing they’re still alive. I find myself in this state from time to time. Everyone is susceptible to the vicious circle of modern day mediocrity. In that respect, ghosts are everywhere.

We see them at work and on the street, shuffling through their existence and not realizing the clock is ticking! We are all given a finite amount of time on this earth. The worst part is that we don’t know when that time is up. 50 years from now? 2 days? 15 minutes? I wonder what life would be like if we all had countdown clocks planted on our foreheads. Would we be more mindful of the time we had? Would we be more considerate and kind to those whose time was running low?

We are all destined to leave this earth at some point in the future. Can you honestly say your time was well spent? Is humanity improved due to your presence or negatively impacted? Have you at least touched the life of at least one person in a positive way? Let’s let the truly dead and buried haunt the world and let’s begin to live.

in memorium

alakai — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:09:30 +0000

I typically don’t repost other people’s writings (maybe if I did this thing would get updated more than once every couple months). But this hits close to home and I felt the need to share the message.

———//—————————————–

13 December 2008 @ 01:57 pm
Chris W. Death

On Thursday, December 4th, 2008 Christopher (39) passed away after collapsing on his kitchen floor in his Wicker Park apartment. Christopher was a great looking, athletic, ‘good time charley’, bigger than life guy with a huge smile and big heart – he had more than enough for which to live.

Unfortunately the heart can only take so much! Especially if it is already unknowingly weak because of a biological defect which runs in the family, it certainly shouldnt be consumed with the extra stress of drinking, smoking and drugs. Christopher didnt intend harm to himself, his family, his parents, or his friends, but thats the unfortunate reality of addictions..

Christopher left many people feeling much guilt with many unanswered questions. He left both good and painful memories. He left his two boys behind, his pending ex wife, his friends, his parents, his life. Why? Because he cared most about his addiction(s) than anything else.

Its true we cant change people – people have to want to help themselves. Unfortunately, when people suffer from addictions, they dont think rationally and they dont even realize the way their mind works in order to keep going the way they do, addictions intact and fulfilled routinely.

Christopher wanted to live two lives. He wanted the family, the house, the life, but he wasnt happy without the party life. Its not possible to do both. Its a choice one has to make for the betterment of children and a normal life. Christopher made that choice – it didnt end well. Chris will be sorely missed by so many people. Its the worst situation I could ever imagine and I was probably closest to it.

If you have an addiciton, I ask you to think hard as you lay your head on the pillow. When you think about your life, the things you would change if you could, the thing(s) you want in your life that you dont have right now, ask yourself why. If the reason is your life style choices that hinder your ability to have these things – thats your answer! Get help, want help, want it for yourself and for the people around you. I guarantee Chris would do things differently if he were here today, but he is not here.

If you know someone whose life is negativley impacted by drugs and/or addiction, have the conversation. Dont settle for anything less than a step in the right direction from that person, otherwise you might be giving a speech at their funeral and you will regret not doing something.

The police station had the information wrong about my husband when I called – they confused him with someone else. Yes, someone else, a 38 year old man who lived down that same Chicago street, died of a heart attack around 9pm last Thursday night after doing drugs with a buddy in his simliar apartment. The policeman who answered my phone call told me there are 80 other bodies in the morgue from the weekend alone in Chicago and these calls come in everyday regarding deaths from drugs. Not junkies, not underprivileged, those who come from good homes, good circumstances, and cant or wont recognize they have a problem. We have a much bigger problem in this country than most of us realize.

I fell in love with Chris 18.5 years ago and I quit trying to figure out how to make things better 2.5 years ago. I watched him deplete into a depressed, anxious, moody, mind-eliminating person who was passionate about his good time euphoria. I will miss Chris for the rest of my life and I will never understand how or why he, or anyone, could allow this to happen.

–MW

Xbox hard drive upgrade Part 1: The last time I spent $99 for a 60GB drive was back in 2001!

alakai — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:48:38 +0000

Like most 360 owners these days, I’m constantly shuffling and deleting content from my measly 20gb hard drive in order to make space for more stuff. Game demos, trailers, Arcade trials, even unused themes and gamerpics have been purged from the drive to make room for more demos, trailers and arcade titles. And now that the new Xbox interface is coming in less than 10 days with the ability to store entire games to the drive, I seriously need some space.

Enter the new Xbox Live Starter Pack. This new sku features a 60gb hard drive, 3 month Xbox Live membership, ethernet cable, and obligatory headset for the super low (for Microsoft) price of $99. Granted, our PS3 brethren can crack open a beer, toss in any 2.5in SATA hard drive and call it day, but thanks to Microsoft’s concern for “quality of gameplay” (i.e. squeezing money out of it’s fan base like a sponge), we’re given 3 overpriced options: 20gb, 60gb and 120gb.

You may ask me “but why didn’t you just go 120gb?” Well, because I’m a cheap ass. Seriously, with the 3 month Live subscription included, the 60gb seemed like a better deal (and I get another unused headset to add to my collection) and I had trouble justifying $140 for a 120gb drive.

According to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base, the data migration kit offered for Elite owners (and also included in the 120gb kit) will work for transferring all my crap from the old drive to the new. Off to call tech support!