It doesn't surprise me how often I'm asked by new and experienced photographers how I clean my DSLR camera lenses.
If you're not a photographer or even an amateur DSLR user you probably wouldn't think about it at all but properly cleaning your lenses to get rid of dust, rain drops, finger prints and oil smudges, and other dirt without permanently damaging your lenses and their coatings can be very tricky. Unfortunately many photographers don't realize their mistakes until it's too late.
It's so easy to get confused since there are so many cleaning products marketed to photographers. Few are great, most are average but some should be avoided completely and even thrown out! I bet you have a few of these in your camera bag right now.
Odd isn't? For what I'm guessing this cost to manufacture and ship I can think of more effective ways to get my attention. Heck, a $5 Amazon.com or Starbucks Gift Card would be a better bribe!
CBC News has reported that they were able to help some people lower their credit card interest rates by calling the credit card company and asking:
I think I've been a good customer. I'd like to stay with you, but I really want you to lower the rate on my card. Can you help me?
The article goes on to state that you should ask for a supervisor and ask again if you get turned down.
I've found that if you do get turned down by the supervisor that you should keep calling back and asking until you get a rep that is willing to lower your rate. for me, it took two calls to one credit card company and as many as eight calls to another. Persistence paid off as both my cards are now under 10 percent.
Whatever you do, don't let lower rates fool you into spending more. It's always advisable to pay off your credit cards in full each month and never use them to purchase anything that you cannot afford to pay in full right away.
It can be a pain in the neck when you want to visit a site or web page but it doesn't load for you. Sometimes you might not be sure if the site is really down or if you're having a problem with your internet connection or your computer.
Just enter the site you are having difficulty loading and "Down for everyone or just me?" will check to see if the web site is actually down or not. Neat!
Later this week Leatherman is coming out with a new, lighter, and radically redesigned tool called the Leatherman Skeletool CX. It's made of aluminum and stainless steel and coated with tungsten.
Like most Leatherman tools, it features pliers, wire cutters, straight/serrated blade, bottle opener, and a bit driver. The new design also incorporates an integrated carabiner and bit storage in the handle but only weighs five ounces! Leatherman claims it's the lightest full size multi-tool on the market.
This afternoon I was on Call For Help with Jeff on WCWP. We talked about photography and photo gear.
I was the first guest and the interview was about 15 minutes. You can listen to the show and get a copy of the show notes here. WARNING: When playing the audio you'll need to skip forward about 90 seconds as there was an audio problem on the start of the recording.
Democrats choose betweem Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. John McCain and Mitt Romney are the best the Republicans have to offer.
But when you get down to it, no matter where you stand, I think it's a struggle to get really excited about ANY of them.
Are you really enthusiastic about any of these candidates? Come on, really?! Stop fooling yourself, I think you must concede that we should be able to do better. The two party system is completely obsolete but no one realizes it... at least yet.
P.S. Don't bother mentioning Ron Paul unless you want me to make fun of you.
The only thing announced today at MacWorld that still has me excited is the Apple Time Capsule.
It's a wireless network attached storage drive that can be used with Mac OS X Leopard's Time Machine or as a stand alone wireless or wired hard drive. The later, is what has me so excited.
Available in 500GB and 1T models, it is Mac and PC compatible, also functions as a Printer server, and AirPort Extreme Base Station. Instead of a printer, you can use the USB port to connect an additional USB Hard Drive such as a Western Digital MyBook. (Anyone know if a Drobo would work?)
Pretty sweet eh? It only needs to cost $100 less and Apple has a product that'll outsell and could displace the Western Digital MyBook as my favorite storage device. If I had a $1000 to waste I'd order two 1TB models in a nano-second.
Wow it seems like only yesterday I wrote my last post here. I've been so busy that all the days have melted into one and all perspective has been lost!
Since the New Year, I've started broadcasting myself and you can catch me filling in for Chris on live.pirillo.com most afternoons.
It's amazing how frequently I'm asked the same questions over and over while broadcasting so I've added a Frequently Asked Questions section to the site today. I'm sure the FAQ will keep growing as this broadcasting experiment continues.
If you enjoy talking about photography or technology or have questions about either please check and see if I'm live and join us for our broadcasts that are certainly better than the crap repeats on TV. ;)
The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my company, employers, or any other organization which I have a relationship with or associated with.
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The only thing announced today at MacWorld that still has me excited is the 
