Zune With a View

REDMOND - Microsoft this week unveiled its new lineup of Zune digital media players. The 2nd generation of Zunes will come in 3 varieties: 4GB Flash, 8GB Flash, and 80GB hard-drive. All will feature wifi wireless synching, a revamped interface, the ability to share songs wirelessly, and a touch sensitive "Zune Pad" input device that is also a clickable button.

Of note is that Microsoft will release a firmware update to the current Zune (Gen 1) 30 GB model, that will upgrade the player's feature set and interface to match the newer models.

The new Zune is expected to hit stores November 13, 2007, almost a full year from the original. The 4GB, 8GB, and 80GB models will be priced at $149, $199, and $249, respectively.

Cloudy Picnic

My wife and I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather last week and enjoy a picnic at a local park. We made sandwiches and tea, grabbed a blanket and set off in my truck.

The overcast day lent itself perfectly to natural light photography. I snapped a few shots of my wife using manual settings and the flash turned off. I slightly overexposed each shot to help fill in some shadow since I wasn’t using a reflector.

I love shooting on overcast days. Without the sun to cast hard shadows, faces seem to radiate a natural glow.

While we were there, we watched a man train his hunting dog to retrieve decoys from the lake. The young canine did quite well except for the occasional failed retrieval, which seemed to send the dog into a frenzied search.

When the temperature finally became cool enough to be uncomfortable, we headed home for the evening with some new pictures on my memory card.

Rainbow

I was driving to a rehearsal the other evening and in the sky was one of the most perfect, double rainbows I've ever seen. My Nikon was out of reach, so I grabbed my cell phone and snapped a couple of quick pics. You can't see very well the 2nd rainbow above the first, but it's there.

PREY

I just finished reading the novel "PREY" by Michael Crichton. This is one of the most intense and best books I've read in a very long time. The last time I remember a book so gripping and suspenseful was when I read "The Lost World," also by Crichton.

*MINOR SPOILERS BELOW*

From the first chapter when we learn the main character, Jack, a stay-at-home huband suspects his wife, Julia, is cheating on him, the narrative keeps the reader turning page after page.

If you go into this book not having an idea of the premise, I think you will miss out on a lot of the suspense. I suspect Crichton shares this view as the first chapter is a lengthy explination of Nano Technology and how such science can and one day could be the undoing of mankind. The tag line for the novel (from michaelcrichon.com) is as follows:

"In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.

It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.

Every attempt to destroy it has failed.

And we are the prey."


Again, this is an excellent, page-turner that entertains and keeps you in suspense until the last line. Pick up a copy and let me know if you agree!

Wii Would like to Play

An Anxious Evening

The June Bugs Attacked! This is an actual photograph taken by me this summer past. This was the second night in a row, that we were literally bombarded with this hoard of Biblical proportions.

"Please do not send help!" was our fervent cry. "The June Bugs will crawl into your ear canals as well."

Fortunately, the june bugs did in fact not crawl into anyone's ear canals--that we know of--but when I ran across this photo tonight, I decided it would make in interesting post. With winter storms raging, it is hard to imagine such an onslaught on our very driveways, but rest assured--the june bugs will return.

Probably in June.