Zeikos Multi-power battery pack review

I picked up a Zeikos multi-power battery pack for my Nikon D300. The price was $54 via Amazon. The D300 has a theoretical limit of 8 FPS. I’ve only been able to get 4 or 5 in most tests. With the extra power I expected 8 FPS, and I got it. I ran a set of AA batteries through the several tests and got a consistent 8 FPS in each test.

I was afraid of buying an aftermarket product at such a discounted price. The Nikon version goes for $242. I took the risk and can honestly say that I am please. The Zeikos unit is solid and professionally made. Plus, all of the buttons work like they are supposed to work.

The only trade off I see is the pickup in weight. Of course this is offset by the coolness factor of of the professional looking rig. I think I can handle the extra weight.

I’ll have a chance to test out the rig this weekend. I have floor seats at a Gymnastics match at UCLA. I finally get to see my cousin compete. I’m excited and do not want to miss a shot.

Technorati Tags: Photography

But I thought it was the body of Christ?

Parishioners who received Holy Communion may have been infected with Hepatitis A. I don’t understand how the works through. I mean its holy and the physical body of Christ. One would think that god might just miraculously disinfect the wafer.

This bit is funny.

Officials did not offer details on the source of the potential contamination, but said that the hepatitis A virus can be spread by consuming food or drink that has been handled by an infected person.

That would be the priest who handed out the wafer and/or how many other people?

Technorati Tags: Catholics,Religion

Political assassination in Pakistan – because of Islam

Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was assassinated by his bodyguard. The assassin used a submachine gun at close range. Governor Taseer never had a chance. He was murdered because of his moderate views.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the guard had told police that he killed Mr Taseer because of the governor's opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy law.

So that’s it? You die in Pakistan because you oppose a draconian blasphemy law? Is it Islam or a screwed up culture that drives people to this madness?

What he really died for was an act of compassion.

Mr Taseer made headlines recently by appealing for the pardon of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Bibi was sentenced to death… for saying what exactly? Even if she escapes death by hanging there is a price on her head. Her family is in hiding, presumably forever. Pakistan can go hang – this is simply immoral.

Technorati Tags: Islam,Pakistan

How many books did you read in 2010?

My boss hit me up with his reading list today. He read 31 book in 2010. I did not record my actual reads for 2010 so I killed some time this afternoon going back over the books on my Kindle, Audible, and my bookshelf. I know I have at least 14 because I’ve read the all of the Dresden files, including the collection of short stories. I counted 11 finished on my Kindle, plus 15 in my Kindle archive. I listened to 5 more books on Audible. And on the printed book side of things, I read 7. So that’s 52 for me.

The best: I am not Serial Killer by Dan Wells,The Maze Runner by James Dashner and The Checklist Manifesto by Atu Gawande.

The worst: The 4-Hour-Workweek by Timothy Ferries, The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

I’ve started of 2011 by finishing Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy and I’m halfway through Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry.

As always, I am curious about what you are reading…

Technorati Tags: Reading,best of 2010

My favorite blogs of 2010

People ask what blogs I read all the time. I get the question at least twice a week. The truth is that I am not much of a blog reader. I try at times, but I find I do not have the time to read as many as I would like. But I keep track of those a read on a regular basis. It’s a short list. I’m skipping the business oriented blogs out of fear that I will bore you with a project management geek fest. This is my list. You may find it odd.

• Zen Habits – I’ve read Leo Babauta since the first month he started blogging. He takes simplicity a little farther than I am willing to go, but I like his ideas.
• No 2 Religion – I feel like Martin is my central California cousin. Plus he’s a frequent commenter here on my blog so I can’t help but follow back to see what he’s writing about.
• Atheist Revolution – This is the best Atheist blog available (IMHO). I read every post.
• Pecan Pie – A new entry to my reading list this year. I find the writing good, the stories interesting, and the possibility of pie is hard to beat.
• Toomanytribles – What can I say? Tribs is an amazing photographer and an atheist too. I read every post and check out each one of her photos.
• CaroLINES – This is my favorite weekend read. I look forward to it every Sunday.
• No Longer Quivering  - The sleeper hit of 2010. This blog is one of the best available.

Oops – I forgot Conservative Babylon. – it’s amazing!

I have a question for my Atheist readers. What is your pick for best Atheist blog? I’m thinking about doing a survey to capture the results. Would anyone be interested in helping put it together?

Technorati Tags: Atheism,Best of 2010

Best Firefox extension of 2010: Readability

Ok – I'll admit that I don’t know how long this Firefox extension has been around. I found it in 2010. It’s called Readability. It strips everything out of a blog post and replaces it with an easy to read version. I love it. It’s simple, easy to use, and effective. If you read a lot of blogs, I’m sure you will find this helpful.

What was your favorite Firefox extension?

Technorati Tags: Firefox Extension

Related articles

• Most Popular Firefox Extensions and Posts of 2010 [Video] (lifehacker.com)
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Skepchick on PZ Myers becoming a Christian

This video is flying around twitter at the moment. I read Skepchick. I did not realize she did video too.

Add me to the list of fat atheist – although I am on a downward trend. Oh noes.

Technorati Tags: Atheism

The Cave Singers

I love the internet. With it, I am almost never bored. I am home alone alone on my last day of the holiday break before I start a mind numbing series of projects at work that will keep me busy for a solid year. I’m shifting between prepping for work and a little play as I move through the day. The play comes from surfing the internet for new music. I would do something more energetic, but I’m sick too.

I found The Cave Singers via a viral marketing video for Deschutes Brewery. Fair warning – the video has a small NSFW scene (@3:15) near the end. It shows a bare-breasted girl diving into a lake. It’s artsy rather than porn.

I like the video. I’ll have to try the beer. I pumped $9.99 into iTunes for The Cave Singers’ Welcome Joy. I’m not sure if that was the filmmakers intention.

Technorati Tags: Music,Beer

Reddit you make laugh

I found this humorous Atheist thread on Reddit this morning. Go ahead, read it. You know you want to.

Technorati Tags: Humor,Atheism

The end is nigh

According to the website We Can Know, Jesus returns on May 21, 2011.

This web site serves as an introduction and portal to four faithful ministries which are teaching that WE CAN KNOW from the Bible alone that the date of the rapture of believers will take place on May 21, 2011 and that God will destroy this world on October 21, 2011. Please take your time and browse through the teachings of Harold Camping, President of Family Radio. Visit EBible Fellowship, Bible Ministries International, and The-Latter-Rain to read and listen to many faithful teachers give scriptural insight on the doctrines that God is teaching His people. Learn about the Biblical Timeline of History, the correct method of Bible interpretation, the End of the Church Age and God's command to believers that they must depart out of the churches. Study the proofs that God has so graciously given in His Word showing us that these dates are 100% accurate and beyond dispute. Above all, please READ THE BIBLE and prayerfully ask God to open your spiritual eyes to these truths. May it please Him to have mercy on each of our souls.

Geez I hope this is bullshit. I’ve already paid for my beach house in July. I’d had to lose that. Do you think they might push the date back?

Technorati Tags: Nutballs,Christians

Pastor Tom Daniels arrested

Well hello then and here again it’s 2011 and it’s looking  a lot like 2010 on the clergy sexual abuse front. Baptist pastor Tom “the six million dollar man” Daniels was arrested for molesting a child under the age of 14. His church is standing by their pastor.

"Until such time as the courts prove Pastor Tom Daniels guilty, we have an obligation to support him and his family," said the statement. The statement also said that accusations such as those facing Daniels need to be tried in the court and not the media.

 Read more: Church board supports pastor jailed in sex case

Ahem… bullshit you fucking hypocrites. I would cut you some slack if it were not for Pastor Tom Daniels being an in your face type moralist. He believes it’s his right to dictate how others should live their lives. He put money and considerable effort into support of proposition 8. So, while he’s fighting to deny rights to gay Americans, he’s also allegedly molesting a child? How does that work?

Pastor Daniels church is the First Baptist Church of Rio Linda. Don’t bother visiting because this is what you will find.

Thank you for visiting the website of the First Baptist Church of Rio Linda!
Unfortunately, our website is currently undergoing new construction and is not fully functional.

Please check back soon for the newly redesigned site!

Of course, you can always email pastor Daniels at pastortom@fbcriolinda.org or his church at info@fbcriolinda.org.

 

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Baptists

It’s time to reset my iTunes play counts

I fired up iTunes for the first time this year a few minutes ago. I kicked the new year off with Buckwheat Zydeco’s album Jackpot! The title cut is shown below. Enjoy.

My iTunes music library contains 74,851 songs. I listened to 14,343 songs during the year. My top 10 plays are predictable.

1. Feel the Vibration, OPM
2. Don’t Push, Sublime
3. God Put a Smile on Your Face, Coldpay
4. Welcome to Jamrock, Damian Marley
5. Chop ‘Em Down, Matisyahu
6. Trenchtown Rock, Bob Marley
7. The Science of Selling Yourself Short, Less Than Jake
8. Rolled Up, Long Beach Dub Allstars
9. DJs, Sublime
10. Karma Police, Radiohead.

I say predictable because all 10 of these songs are on my “Drive Time” playlist. I turn this on when driving home from work when I’m posted to the other side of LA County and face two hour of traffic. It calms my nerves.

My favorite song for the year… Stand Tall by The Dirty Heads.

Technorati Tags: Music,iTunes

My lost day

January 2nd started well enough. I slept in at my son’s house up in Alameda and then enjoyed a tasty Mexican style brunch at La Penca Azul (formerly La Piñata). We hit the road for Los Angeles at 11:30 am. I knew there was a chance the Grapevine would be closed, but in all the years I’ve made the trip, I’ve never had it close on me. My luck ran out yesterday. The Highway Patrol closed the Grapevine because of snow sometime after I left Santa Nella. The I-5 grew more and more congested as we drove south. I cut over to the 101 via the 198 in driving rain and then took some crazy washed-out mountain road over the coastal mountains only to find the 101 a parking lot for next 150 miles. We finally arrived home at 9:30 pm.

We did not have the worst of it. The northbound lanes of the 101 were bumper-to-bumper for 175 miles starting in Ventura. I’m surprised somebody did not go postal. I spoke with one man at a gas station in Lompoc. He said he was 12 hours into what should be a 4 hour trip and still had a good 4 hours to go. He looked tired and confused.

I was aided by my GPS for most of the way, but I wanted to chuck it out the window at one point as it was stuck displaying “4 hours to destination” for at least three hours. At least we were entertained by the audio book Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry, so the slow trip was not a complete loss.

Technorati Tags: Travel

Photo a day - Street Art in Berkeley

I spent the New Year’s holiday up in the bay area visiting my son and daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with my plans. We were blanked in misty rain for most of the trip. Instead of shooting, we stayed in and played a bunch of games.

This shot was taken in Berkeley on New Year’s day. Some street artist had painted a portrait. I caught it as we were leaving a restaurant. My first of 2011.

Technorati Tags: Photography

Post 1 of 2011 – board games

This is my first post of the new year and I refuse to us it to write another pastor done wrong story. I have 7 sitting in my queue already (thanks for the tips), but I don’t have the mental energy to write them up. No, this time I’m going to write about one of my family’s favorite past times, strategy board games. I’m not a rabid fan mind you, I leave that distinction to my son, but I enjoy playing, especially new games.

This January 1st was typical for use. We watched the Rose Parade, read our various books and played computer games (including Dance Revolution, which I don’t get). We also played board games. It’s a pattern going back many years and years.

We played Kingsburg twice today. I lost horribly the first time around and won the second game by a wide margin. Winning is good.

In Kingsburg…

players are Lords sent from the King to administer frontier territories.

The game takes place over five years, a total of 20 turns. In every year, there are 3 production seasons for collecting resources, building structures, and training troops. Every fourth turn is the winter, in which all the players must fight an invading army. Each player must face the invaders, so this is not a cooperative game.

2- 5 players can play, We played a four handed game. Total play time was about an hour. The game was easy to understand but the tactics are quite involved. I developed a strategy that protected against the yearly invasion at first and then focused on building structures that yielded the most points. The strategy worked only because my son underestimated the resources he needed to fight an invasion.

My daughter-in-law is always a force in these games. She won the first game and had us on the run in the second. Her strategies are always difficult to figure out. Kingsburg is good family fun and only costs about $35. I recommend it.

Technorati Tags: Board Games,Kingsburg