When I explore I taken stack loads of pictures, but also like to take video. The video is taken on my digital camera and so is frankly rather shaky and also relatively low resolution at 640×480. Here’s a remarkable bit of research that looks to combine both to improve the resulting video with remarkable results! It’s all rather geeky but watch the video to be amazed, and also to grin at the repeated reference to the “spacetime fusion algorithm”. Doc Brown eat your heart out :-).
One of the big reasons I’ve never moved away from using a bridge camera and gone the DSLR path is because I like having a single device I can shoot pictures and video footage on when I’m exploring. DLSRs have historically be far to snooty to do video … until now! I’ve always preferred the colour balance on Nikon’s too since it matches the vivid style that my eyes (and my current Sony) see things in too.
… I’m going medium format baby for my next trusty exploring camera!
One of my technology strands for the year is about how our style of interaction with technology is changing. I regularly talk to customers about things like touch interfaces in the iPhone, motion interfaces with the Wii, and even mind interfaces with the Emotiv headset.
For the DJs amongst you I thought this one was rather fun too.
So recently as part of my job of being an over excited emerging technology evangelist type geeky person, I’ve been talking to customers about how the way that humans interact with computers is changing. Things like the iPhone with a multi-touch interface, the Wii with its physicality and very useful IR tracking camera, or even spookier the eMotiv mind control headset! It’s all about the interfaces “disappearing” as you just do what you’d expect to do to make something happen, rather than using a keyboard/mouse and navigating a complex UI that you have to learn.
Anyhow whilst browsing Gizmodo I happened upon yet another “natural” interaction approach. Since it’s most definitely NSFW I won’t be showing this one in a presentation anytime soon, but it made me chuckle. Here’s the NSFW link to it.
Limited edition and undoubtedly hugely expensive … check! Individual and coolly retro … check! Rather chunky hence likely to make my wrists look even more effeminate that usual … check! Totally mechanical … WTF!!!
So first I saw this I thought … “haha, that so must be a prank”. Then I starting worrying that it might actually be true! So for those mad explorers who go only equipped with their crappy camera ‘phones … you can now starting bring some quality to your blurry shots ;-).
Personally I reckon two for every day of the week seems like a polite balance ;-). I love retrotastic watches and must admit I’m rather taken by these new G-Shocks from Casio. Anyone want to buy me a nice green one for when I’m out exploring, though some of the places I go to get so little light the solar panel will never have a chance to do its stuff!
When I’m out exploring there are the sorts of hazards you might expect. Rotten floors … you learn to check things out first and walk on the joists where you can. Heights … just be sensible and anything serious should use some sort of fall arrester. Glass and other sharp nasties … good shoes and a pair of leather palmed kevlar work gloves. Absestos … a P3-rated half mask. Security guards with dogs with sharp pointy teeth … stealth, cunning, and a fast pair of legs. All things I’m prepared for and carry gear to handle in my exploring pack, along with first aid kit, multi-tool, and a multitude of torches.
However, there is one hazard you can’t really prepare for … other people! Using the current UK vernacular, the groups of feral “chav” kids, and the gangs of “pikeys” stealing all the metal work they can rip out of a building with their stilsons, crowbars and gas cutting gear. A lone explorer with an expensive camera is an easy target for anybody given to aggression and theft, hence why they are the hazard I fear most and the one that I’m very careful to avoid at all cost!
Not that I’m in anyway advocating a more armed response but the following torches unsurprisingly caught my eye …
Here it is … a snip at 159 bucks!
#1 - stick it in your gob.
#2 - use it for looking down the FSM tube on ROC posts when out exploring.
#3 - #101 - far to rude or disgusting to mention ;-).