Someone in marketing at Asian Diver / Scuba Diving AustralAsia should probably start previewing their email blasts.

• I liked a YouTube video — Human LCD : Close Up Video ( SOUTH KOREA ) http://youtu.be/7Jgkm2pdWgY?a #
• @manukumar Excellent gathering by K9 Ventures at Computer History Museum! in reply to manukumar #
• Anti-whaling petitions get 1 million signatures, while anti shark-finning petitions struggle to get 2 thousand. #
• VGA and DVI display cable connectors are basically mini grappling hooks. #
• I haven't seen it yet! RT @ArneKuilman @echeng I saw your photo on the cover of Revista della Natura. Nice! #
• The new iTunes terms of service is 45 pages long (as viewed on my iPod Touch). How many people have actually read it? #
• #I #think #this #Twitter #hashtag #thing #might #be #getting #out #of #control. #
• The crazies are already in line for the new iPhone. http://yfrog.com/j6tcfj #
• A Square reader, in the wild! (Where are mine??) http://yfrog.com/1g74802374j #
• Google Voice now available for everyone (no invite necessary!). http://google.com/voice (I love it) #
• I think I've just successfully replaced my 2 old(er) Mac Minis with a new one (it has HDMI and mini DisplayPort so it can drive 2 displays). #
• eBay: Olympus 17mm micro 4/3 lens http://ech.cc/9vRBbw, Netgear ReadyNAS NV http://ech.cc/9gxmXS, Sirius Sportster 5 http://ech.cc/aPSoHg #
• @tsutaoka Yeah — I got the $999 Mac Mini server, which is a bargain for what it does. in reply to tsutaoka #
• @alflow Sensitive much? in reply to alflow #
• @alflow I *live* in the USA, and you are coming to *my* stream. So if I talk about the iPhone 4 coming out Thurs, I have to say, "USA only?" in reply to alflow #
• Typing in contacts from a bunch of business cards. Wish @cardmunch had a generic, email-based service! (cc @manukumar ) #
• I just deleted an old Crashplan backup directory and freed up 1.7TB — amazing that I think in terabytes these days! #
• FS: 70 yards of 42" royal blue translucent cloth, $40 http://ech.cc/bSDkZD #
• RT @alexkingorg: OMG @LucyPhone rocks! #
• RT @sterlingz: Why Kindle will win the eBook war: fascinating analysis from Om Malik.Totally agree with his perspectivehttp://zum.bz/9vemCA #
• Just took a dust mite cover off of a comforter. BAD IDEA. Feathers EXPLODED everywhere: like getting tarred and featured, minus the tar. #
• Dan Telfer: "The Best Dinosaur" http://youtu.be/4vSY_rB928c #
• "Danger level on the rise for great white shark divers at Guadalupe Island" http://ech.cc/a5R5Py (via @tonywu) #
• @LukeBornheimer Hey, Larry Bukeheister, -"Erik Chang" != "Eric Cheng" in reply to LukeBornheimer #
• I liked a YouTube video — Poluição sobre tela . Pollution on canvas : Alexandre Orion http://youtu.be/BbilMM16Kgs?a #
• New iPhone comic. Har har har. http://ech.cc/auKv9a #
• "Begun, the e-book wars have." http://ech.cc/9qKRDJ #
• Hanging out with music faculty at beginning of St Lawrence Strong Quartet summer chamber music seminar. Let the music begin! #
• At Dink for Luciana Souza singing jazz. #
• Best bio line ever: "Dr. [Jamie] Parker is a champion of new music, except when it sucks." #
• My ReadyNAS Pro is restriping its 6-disk X-RAID2 after I swapped out one drive with a 2TB. Going to take 44 hours. Data is slow these days. #
• The rescheduled TDEX is coming up soon, 8-11 July. http://twu.tw/97utgQ Will be speaking at the show with @tonywu on 10-11 July #
• RT @tonywu Sperm Whale Voices Are Personal http://twu.tw/asa7yE These are the same whales Tony and I photographed in February #
• Pam is at the USA / Ghana game in Joberg. Must be exciting! #
• Was just asked to debug a Windows Vista wifi issue… in Russian. I failed. #
• Go, gigantic cello section! http://yfrog.com/5saocfj #
• The moon is incredible right now. Perfect and orange, on the horizon. #
• The latest in the "Eric with other people's babies" series. http://yfrog.com/1r71567304j #
• Facebook really needs a touch interface (no reliance on hover). #
• Feeling all emotional after an incredible deconstruction of Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet by Rob Kapilow and the SLSQ. #
• Anyone want to meet up in Bangkok? RT @tonywu: Dinner 9 July in Bangkok w/ @echeng and Colin Lee. Anyone else around and want to join? #

Cellist Maria Simiz’s fingers, black with fingerboard varnish after practicing hard. SLSQ Summer Chamber Music Seminar 2010. echeng100627_0257851

Cellist Roman Borys, pianist Jamie Parker, and violist Lesley Robertson

I’m delirious after reading chamber music until well past midnight. Good night!

Difference Engine (design by Charles Babbage, 1822). Computer History Museum, Mountain View

Last week, I went to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, to celebrate the launch of K9 Ventures. I spent most of my time socializing with various friends of K9, but I did take the time to snap a few photos of the Difference Engine they have on display. It is an incredible work of functional art. I’m told that the Computer History Museum gives demos of it in action — something I’d love to see. (read more »)

The Sony HVR-Z1U is a professional Sony camcorder that records in 1080i HDV in both NTSC and PAL (50i/60i/30F/25F). It uses three 1/3″ 16:9 Super HAD CCD imagers for great performance in low light, and features a 12X optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens.

Great condition, and working perfectly. Glass is perfect. Also includes extra batteries, extra battery chargers, a high-quality Kata multi case, and 5 Sony HDV tapes.

$2,350 + $60 insured shipping anywhere in the continental USA. Contact me if you’re interested. (read more »)

• @johnolilly funny — I associate "howlers" with monkeys. :) in reply to johnolilly #
• We are behind here in the States. "Singapore Gets Wired for Speed" http://nyti.ms/ctcvpB #
• 3 delayed flights in 5 days, leading to 2 missed flights and hours of wasted time. #
• American Airlines charges $8 for pillow and blanket now?? #
• I liked a YouTube video — Airline Safety Video FUNNY!!! MAD TV http://youtu.be/pFjVbiPzwpI?a #
• RT @Wetpixel: Wetpixel PNG Eastern Fields Expedition, January 2012 http://wpx.in/d826xV #
• RT @adamnash: iPhone 4 pre-order done. Secret was to use the Apple Store iPhone app, rather than using the website. #
• Howard Hall Productions: Cocos 2010 video short, shot on RED http://ech.cc/c9lTUz #
• I love work at home days. http://yfrog.com/g03v3j #
• Apple just revved the Mac Mini. It's tiny and powerful. I am going to have to replace my old(er) ones at some point… http://bit.ly/17Pds #
• I just tried to help someone using Microsoft Word on Windows 7. Wow — Microsoft really bungled Word in the last release! #
• I just archived my old 8514-message inbox (which I moved to another box last week). I'm never going to get to those messages, anyway. #
• Just watched a guy photograph my car from every angle. #
• Crap. I only have 87GB available on my 4TB main data volume. Time to start freeing up space. 3TB drives — I need you! Please come out soon. #
• The jackhammer sounds like it's *in* my house. #
• @Chester We need video. in reply to Chester #
• @Chester Yes — video needed! You'd instantly get linked by all of the Apple fanboy sites. I know how you like fame… in reply to Chester #
• FS: iPad dock connector to VGA adapter, new (unopened), $26 shipped in USA #
• I get annoyed every time I upload a photo to Facebook and the IPTC caption doesn't get imported. #
• Missing Instapaper and Kindle on my small (Android) mobile device (vs the iPad, my big mobile device) #
• "How the Male Anglerfish Gets Completely Screwed" http://theoatmeal.com/comics/angler #
• I just saw the programs from LA Opera's recent Ring Cycle production. Ridiculous! What is happening to opera? http://www.laoperaring.com/ #
• Headed out to speak at the San Diego Sierra Club. #
• I installed Picasa 3 on my mom's computer, and it matched a picture of her from junior high to current photos (face recognition feature). #
• @edasque Instafetch is PERFECT! Last time I had an Android, there were no Instapaper-compatible readers out there. Subscribed for $5/year. in reply to edasque #
• Does anyone want a $4 credit towards Amazon Video on Demand movie and TV purchases? First request gets a DM back with code. #
• @lfstewart glad there was a way for me to find out that Pam made it safely! in reply to lfstewart #
• The things I find at home… http://yfrog.com/b86vinj #
• Had lunch with Howard and Michele Hall (@uwfotog) — it was nice to see both of you! #
• I liked a YouTube video — Transformer Owl http://youtu.be/BCgbYnNAbSM?a #
• Panasonic GF1 hacked to get 1080p, 4:2:2 color, high bitrates http://bit.ly/dujFI6 #
• I liked a YouTube video — Aggressive Maneuvers for Autonomous Quadrotor Flight http://youtu.be/MvRTALJp8DM?a #
• Another day, another delayed flight. #

Indonesia at the same time one of the most biodiverse ocean environments on the planet and the world’s largest shark fishery. Shark Savers is working with Misool Eco Resort, Conservation International’s Indonesia Marine Program, WildAid, and other NGOs and eco-tourism companies on a new initiative to convince the Raja Ampat government to prohibit all fishing of sharks, mantas, and mobulas.

This is not a “feel good” petition. The petition is one piece of a comprehensive initiative to show the Raja Ampat Fisheries and Tourism Depts. that sharks, mantas and mobulas are very valuable to their local economy – ALIVE! Sign the petition now — we need your support.

Spread the word!

Note — I wanted to post an image of a shark photographed in Indonesia, but I realize that I’ve pretty much NEVER SEEN A SHARK in Indonesia. If this partnership of conservation groups can help to get a new marine park set up, maybe that will change…

I switched to Lightroom from Aperture 8 months ago, and I have since been enjoying using a product that just works. However, I do still have tens of thousands of images with metadata trapped in an Aperture library that explodes when I open it.

I just kicked off an Aperture 3 upgrade to see if my library is fixed during the upgrade. It’s been at 2% for 20 minutes now. We’ll see what happens.

Dual GoPro Hero HD cameras for 3D shooting, mounted on an RC10

My buddy Don was up here to help with my Maker Faire underwater photography show last month, and we ended up taking a day to hack two GoPro Hero HD cameras onto my remote controlled car for 3D video. (read more »)

Tony Wu is completely covered in anthias at Carl’s Ultimate

Photographer Tony Wu and I have just announced a January 2012 scuba diving / underwater photography expedition to the Eastern Fields of Papua New Guinea.

Instead of boring you with too many details here, I’ll point you to my trip report from last year’s trip and the official trip announcement over at Wetpixel.com.

Hope you can join us!

Here’s a short video shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, with a Canon 7D in a Nauticam underwater housing with 60mm macro lens and INON Underwater Micro Semi-Fisheye Relay Lens UFL-MR130 EFS60 (AKA “bug eye” or “insect eye”) — effectively, and underwater endoscope.

The INON bug eye lens produces images with a perspective otherwise impossible to achieve — like seeing the macro world from a small critter’s perspective!

Here’s a shot of the rig I used:

It looks like an insecticon, no?

Special thanks to Tony Wu, David Cheung / Scubacam, and Kasawari resort, who hosted me during a special Lembeh night safari.

• Great job on the new iPhone 4, but I'm not so excited about it because it will still be crippled by AT&T #fail #
• Apple's iPhone 4 video is really worth watching. Try not to barf at all of the "changing the world" stuff. http://ech.cc/dpthhZ #
• My HTC Incredible is almost out of batteries after sitting unused for 2.5 hours. Google sync reports "currently experiencing problems." #
• Removed Facebook account and Flickr account sync from HTC Incredible. I will track down this battery drain issue. #
• A good thread to monitor for HTC Incredible / Android 2.1 battery life issue: http://ech.cc/aT1w76 #
• @juliemiller1 Yes, I have a task killer. It isn't related to tasks that show up in a task killer,so it must be a sleep issue related to sync in reply to juliemiller1 #
• Dinner with @adamnash and Carolyn! It has been months… #
• @pyknosis Figured it out. I'm back online. Did you sort out your AT&T issue yet? ;) in reply to pyknosis #
• Lightroom 3 has been released! #win The Adobe online shopping cart uses Flash! #fail http://ech.cc/aUZrIT #
• @pyknosis yeah, it's sort of ridiculous at most mobile use involves finding workarounds for problems. in reply to pyknosis #
• Apple bows to pressure from NY Times and yanks Pulse RSS reader from App Store for "infringing on rights." http://ech.cc/aAgYvE #
• @adamnash You should show up to your commencement speech in a gorilla suit. in reply to adamnash #
• Spammers have figured out how to get past @disqus collaborative spam filtering. I've gotten about 50 spam comments in the past day. #
• What a deal! http://yfrog.com/mlohcj #
• What happened to #disqus Have gotten over 100 spam messages in past 2 days. Hope their collaborative spam reporting gets fixed. #
• I liked a YouTube video — Axis of Awesome – 4 Four Chord Song (with song titles) http://youtu.be/5pidokakU4I?a #
• A laugh-out-loud video, for me. :) http://ech.cc/aV9PHv #
• Upgrading Lightroom multiple catalogs with 100,000+ images in them (each) to Lightroom 3. Wish me luck… #
• I'm disabling @disqus comments on my journal until they fix the spam issue. #
• @cindypon I dunno, but he was awesome. :) in reply to cindypon #
• United Airlines cleanliness #fail http://yfrog.com/6rdpdvj #
• I took my earphones out of their usual place to make sure I could access them easily in flight. I think they are sitting on my desk… #
• Crammed in delayed flight line hell. The guy next to me smells like death. #
• Hare Krishna next to me on plane. Has MacBook Pro, iPhone, nice watch. Business is good! #
• @Dan_ If I boycotted every airline from which something bad has happened, I wouldn't be flying anymore. in reply to Dan_ #
• Flights to Charleston, SC and Charleston, WV boarding at same gate. Bad planning! #
• Insanely bright portable blue laser. I want one, but I don't know why. http://ech.cc/aCkyFc #
• I liked a YouTube video — Lego Hello World http://youtu.be/zX09WnGU6ZY?a #
• Giving Google Chrome a try as default browser, now that 1Password Alpha exists as a Chrome extension. #
• Alisa Weilerstein on Rachmaninoff cello sonata at Spoleto USA: phenomenal!! #
• Re: Google Apps for Domains. Gmail doesn't show up as an active service, and it's not on my service list. Ideas? http://ech.cc/9FzS4j #
• Deleted my Google Apps for Domains account, and will re-register in 5-7 days. Maybe Gmail will be there. #
• I had a fantastic time at the tail end of Spoleto USA in Charleston, SC. Chamber music fans: I highly recommend this festival! #

One of my most popular posts is How to block and hide Facebook applications and requests. The post is really old and is probably no longer useful, but I do get a lot of requests from people who want to know how to unblock a Facebook application (e.g. Farmville, Cafe World) once it has been blocked. Here’s how you do it — at least, until Facebook makes another privacy interface change. (read more »)

I really like Disqus as a commenting engine, but I started getting hit by massive comment spam 2 days ago. Ever few hours, I was getting 15-25 comment spam messages here on my online journal, and I’d have to go into Disqus comment moderation, select them all, and mark them all as spam. Each spam blast featured identical messages on multiple posts.

When I installed Disqus, I missed their Akismet integration feature (or maybe it didn’t exist, at the time). I’ve just enabled it, and will see if spam comments continue to come in…

We have just received the first few copies of Wetpixel Quarterly #8 to roll off of the presses, and it looks great! WPQ8 features Jason Bradley’s photos of deep-sea creatures, photos from last year’s Ultimate Indonesia expedition, a sperm whale feature, and more.

In about a week, WPQ8 should arrive at our mailing facility in Maine to be shipped off to subscribers — you should have your copies soon. If you are not a subscriber, you can pre-order a copy online!

Adam Lau and I will be speaking at the San Diego Sierra Club’s Photo Section this coming June 17th at 7pm. The talk will last between 60-90 minutes, with 30 minutes allocated for Q&A. Adam will be talking about our time on campaign with Sea Shepherd in Antarctica, and I will be showing pretty underwater pictures. I’ll probably do the same talk I gave at TEDx (on sperm whales and flashlight fish), plus about 20 minutes on sharks.

The San Diego Sierra Club’s Photo Section website is here:
http://sandiego.sierraclub.org/photoclub/

Meeting Location:
Wesley Palms
2404 Loring Street
Pacific Beach 92109
(858) 581-8423

I’ve been using an HTC Incredible (running Android 2.1) for about a week now. Every phone / carrier combination has its trade-offs, but so far, I’m finding the HTC Incredible on Verizon to be the best combination of messaging productivity, application support, and mobile coverage (while I’m in the States, that is; when I leave the country, nothing touches a GSM Blackberry).

Starting yesterday, my HTC Incredible’s battery started draining at an unacceptable rate. Even leaving the phone alone in sleep mode resulted in battery drain, which effectively made the phone unusable if it wasn’t connected to a power source. (read more »)

• "In the company of sperm whales," an interview of Eric Cheng by DiveFilm HD (current podcast) http://divefilmhd.com #
• What your email address says about your computer skills. http://theoatmeal.com/comics/email_address #
• Coffee with Twitter's @mabb0tt. Twitter and I are now neighbors! #
• @johnolilly @adamnash introduced us after I left EPNY. He and I seem to know a lot of people in common! in reply to johnolilly #
• @viennateng Wanna go for a hike this late afternoon? in reply to viennateng #
• RT @macaby: This is what I'm talking about! 50% Off Art Supplies at Flax Art & Design: http://bit.ly/9qgWU1 via @livingsocial #
• Played music for 4 hours yesterday with Andy Lan, Bill Palmer, Barry, Melanie and William. Was wonderful. #
• NY Times article on Geoff Nuttall and Spoleto USA (I'm headed to Charleston for Spoleto next week) http://ech.cc/cOs7PH #
• Migrating from QuickBooks Mac to Quickbooks Online (actually, starting over). Wish me luck. #
• Test of HTC Incredible camera (I like this phone!) http://twitgoo.com/y1hc1 #
• @cohen AOL is still around? in reply to cohen #
• RT @johnolilly: Wow, Kno is 14" and 5.5 pounds. Built on Tegra + Linux. Will be fascinating to see if schools/students/teachers adopt. #
• If you're using Gmail for domains, I'd love to get a vote on whether you like it. #
• HTC Incredible doesn't support SSP/HID Bluetooth keyboards. Always the waiting game with tech… #
• @cohen I think we should hang out more. in reply to cohen #
• I just got a theBoom headset: ridiculously good. I used it while driving in a convertible, and no one could tell. http://www.theboom.com #
• Be sure to update Photoshop CS4 for Mac. Serious security flaw discovered. http://ech.cc/aMtB9g #
• How does one set "My contact card" to an existing contact in Android 2.1? 5 mins on Google yielded no answer. #
• Elgato Turbo H.264 is losing sync when transcoding a particular video file. Driving me nuts. I'm going back to Compressor on this one… #
• 'Trawling for shrimp is like bulldozing a forest to catch songbirds & squirrels' Sylvia Earle | I make the same analogy 'cept with 'shrooms! #
• It's the perfect week to buy 1Password. 50% off via Daring Fireball! http://ech.cc/aOvwGf #
• Just updated 8 plugins in my Wordpress install. It had been too long… #
• ROV footage of the Gulf oil leak: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7225649 #
• @GScot I make sure my inbox is empty at least once every few years. :) in reply to GScot #
• Anyone know how to copy text from Gmail app on HTC Incredible? The shift-S trick that works on other Android phones doesn't work. #
• My house is shaking, but I don't think it's an earthquake. Feels like it might be related to construction outside… #
• Video of my friend @adamnash in Google IO panel with @anguslogan, @karaswisher, @rsarver, @chrismessina (social web) http://lnkd.in/wvU7wR #
• Verizon spokesman says no iPhone in immediate future. So if you're waiting, buy that HTC Incredible… http://bit.ly/aaSFG2 #
• I've sold 10 of my aluminum prints so far. With my current inventory, I'm still $2,500 away from breaking even. So it goes… #
• @adamnash It's your computer telling you that you are too old to play computer games. in reply to adamnash #
• @uwfotog Pam didn't cut her hair. It was an oversight on the artist's side. ;) in reply to uwfotog #
• Apitek's 3D i2 camcorder available for pre-sale (Flip-like simplicity) http://ech.cc/a8QdKy #
• I see the light! (Google Wave for collaboration) #
• @johnolilly You're going to be quoted out of context on TechCrunch or something. ;) in reply to johnolilly #
• I cooked something tonight that out-spiced a thai person! She's complaining as I type this. :) #
• "Those techie guys aren't really receptive to phone calls." — a voicemail message left to me. Hah! #
• Krispy Kreme in Daly City: the local Asian hangout on Friday night. #
• It's official: I'm addicted to caffeine. (crap) #
• Read it Later's 3-week saga for Apple App Store approval (still not approved). http://ech.cc/bsWWlk #
• @adamnash A pickup truck? That is so un-Bay-Area-like! in reply to adamnash #
• Yesterday was National Doughnut Day? We happened to purchase donuts yesterday (randomly). It's a once-a-2-year sort of thing for me… #
• I have been struck down by some sort of sickness. This explains the general achy-ness and headache. :( #
• Managed to get through the weekend without doing any work. Sickness was involved, but still proud of myself! #
• @pyknosis re: new iPhone, I'll call to congratulate you once you get it and leave a msg when your phone doesn't ring. :) in reply to pyknosis #
• RT Why I Sold Zappos http://bit.ly/bNnV72 /via @manukumar #

I drew a picture of Pam and me using Penultimate, a notebook app for the iPad. I think it’s pretty accurate.