Should you wish to support the fight against this bill, please start by educating yourself. Read the bill and related commentary (links are posted in the discussion) and then go here for editable form letters that allow you to send an e-mail protest in less than 2 minutes.

(Livia posted this on her Facebook).

Li Jing flies above the Women’s Army (photo: Adam Tow)

Although my allergies made it a painful few hours, I enjoyed manning the second camera at Tilden Park and taking stills of the production. 34 extras put up with bitterly-cold wind, filling out the “army” and learning martial arts moves for the training session scene. It was fun to meet Li Jing; she was really funny.

I have really enjoyed being a part of the Wetpixel community because its global community facilitates meeting up with other underwater photographers while on location or during transit. Through Wetpixel, I’ve met a great group of people in various locations around the world.

Aug. 3, 2007 – Long-term use of H2 blockers, including Axid, Pepcid, Tagamet, and Zantac, may increase the risk of mental decline in later life…

The study showed that after taking into account other factors, elderly people who reported “continuous use” of H2 blockers had a 2.4-fold higher chance of some form of cognitive impairment.

The article cites a study on 1,558 over-65 African-Americans, and only concludes that more study is needed.

Roaming around San Francisco has been a lot of fun. I pick a random restaurant within walking distance of wherever I end up sleeping and go hang out there to work on my computer for a few hours. Because my friends who aren’t on normal working schedules have either moved away or had babies, I live mostly in solitude during week days. And so, I wander around and hang out with the people around me (even though I don’t actually talk to anyone except for wait staff).

Yesterday, at Yummy Yummy (in the Sunset), two of the guys who work there saw a big photo of a shark on my computer screen and had a conversation about it. Here’s how I imagined that it went:

Waiter 1: “Whoah! Check out that shark! That’s really cool!”

Waiter 2: “Are you crazy? That thing would bite your head off in an instant.”

Waiter 1: “Whatever. That’s the coolest thing ever.”

Waiter 2: “Hmm. I’m getting hungry…”

I recognized one of the waiters as having been there when I was a regular customer 8-9 years ago (when my ex-girlfriend lived out in the Sunset). Dave says there is a guy there who will talk your ear off while you eat, but I haven’t met him, yet.

A few of the hacks are mine, which is exciting. One is a tutorial on how to put a second hard disk into a MacBook Pro. The other two are short photography tips with iPhoto in mind.

Eli and Courtney Woolery at Moxi [see all photos]

Elijah Woolery, my friend and co-editor of Wetpixel Quarterly, had a small show and auction yesterday at Moxi Salon (show benefits the Surfrider Foundation). I had never been to a show in a beauty salon before; the owner and employees made it into a nice, cozy space. I really liked their take on the ubiquitous salon mirrors, and each station had hanging hair dryers that activated when pulled on. Congratulations on the show, Eli!

I had a good time meeting some of Courtney’s co-workers, and it was great to see Alissa, who stopped by on her way to dinner (or, I should say, on her way back from Africa before her trip to Turks & Caicos — her schedule is eerily similar to mine!).

me ‘n alissa, self portrait

I’m not sure how long the prints will be up on the walls, but if you are interested, you should stop by. Moxi is at 1980 Union Street #8. It’s up the stairs on the right, past the snowboard railing.
[see all photos from the show]

Also, Eli has some work online. You may want to check out his online gallery with prints from the show. He also has a more extensive gallery from the Revillagigedos / Socorro trip.

UPDATE: Eli has posted a photo of me from the Revillagigedos trip. I definitely look better in black and white. :)

these people are 10 years younger than I am [see all photos]

A week ago, Peter and my cousin, Charlotte, invited me over for a barbecue at their place in Mountain View. Man, did I feel old. Most of the people there were software engineers, still young enough to have that sense of excited empowerment — like they could take over the world one day. I hope they hang onto that energy!

And Peter — nice steaks, even though I didn’t eat one. You’re a natural. :) [see all photos]

Here’s an example of why you can’t just do it in post. (more…)