Hey guys! I’m in Brisbane now, and my assistant’s Canon 1D/1Ds Mk II charger has burned out. We are leaving port on Wednesday. Does anyone have a used charger to sell us? We’d love to order one, but we’re afraid that we don’t have time for a delivery.

Or, we can go into town and buy one from a camera store (have recommendations for who to call?).

Please let me know via email if you can help! Thank you. :)

I’ll get your message if you send one on Tuesday (in Australia) at: http://echeng.com/contact/

For some reason, the ViewLevel plugin for Wordpress has started showing lock icons on all posts after I upgraded to WP 2.6.5 from 2.6.1, so I’ve removed the icon altogether from post titles. Hope to fix this when I return.

Until then, please be sure you are logged in to read the latest updates (if you have an account, that is). :)

Yap stamp detail

I have been stressed out for the past few weeks because I shipped my Seacam underwater housing (with ports, arms, strobes, chargers, and more) back from Yap, Micronesia rather than haul it home via Dave and Kim’s wedding in New York . After a month and a half, it had still not arrived. I insured the package, but my receipt from the Yap post office simply said, “Stamps: $140,” and this did not inspire confidence in the package’s traceability. (read more »)

I was hanging out with a friend the other day (one I don’t know very well), and she asked, “so what were you doing when you were living in New York?”

I answered, succinctly, “I was writing options trading software.”

She replied, “Oh. That doesn’t interest me at all.”

Silence.

You can imagine that I wasn’t as excited for additional dialog.

Since I don’t have TV, I streamed election coverage on MSNBC after having dinner in the Castro during the actual announcement of Obama’s win — the streets went wild!. Animal Planet is doing a bit advertising push for Whale Wars; MSNBC played the trailer 4-5 times during the course of my 30 minutes of watching speeches.

I’ve been getting emails from acquaintances who live abroad, and there seems to be near universal joy outside of the U.S.; likewise, all of my close friends are ecstatic at the prospect of change. The only downer is that more than 50% of voting Californians seem to be bigots. It will be really disappointing if Prop. 8 passes. I thought we lived in a little oasis here, but it appears that the oasis only encompasses the coast.

When we were walking to the car after dinner, a homeless man shuffled by with a shopping cart, muttering, “I don’t care about any of this shit. I don’t care.” Yeah, I suppose the ramifications of an Obama victory might not matter so much compared to finding food and a place to sleep.

More of my friends are making it into reality TV! Alissa is going to be featured in a new series on the CW called In Harm’s Way.

Me ‘n alissa, self portrait in San Francisco

Alissa will be in the “War Photographers” episode:

They may not be soldiers, but war photographers risk their lives each time they set out to grab the headline-making shots that chronicle military conflict. In this episode, Hunter Ellis takes viewers into battle with two war photographers on the job in Israel’s West Bank and Gaza Strip, as they cover the region’s tense and tumultuous events.

UPDATE: The episode is on Hulu.

Angel Island fire, San Francisco, October 12, 2008

I saw a tweet from @ravenb tonight about the fire at Angel Island, and rushed out of my house at 11:30pm for a quick view up in Diamond Heights. I hope no one was hurt in the fire, and I hope they get it under control soon. As of 11:15pm, it had already consumed more than 100 acres. (read more »)

I’m going to load my Kindle with tons of books before I leave for extended travels this coming November, and I’d like to get some recommendations. What should I read? :)

Since everyone I know seems to be on reality shows these days, I thought I’d push another show. This one will be on NBC.

Shark Taggers follows a bunch of marine biologists as they tag sharks in Brazil (and other places). It just so happens that that marine biologists are led by Dr. Samuel Gruber and a bunch of the people I spent time with at the Bimini Biological Field Station back in 2003.

Back at PIT 2003: Mangroves at night! bug jackets! sharks! fun!

Anyway, I am excited to see both Whale Wars and Shark Taggers! And this, from someone who doesn’t like reality shows. :)

Animal Planet premiers Whale Wars this coming November 7, 2008 (Fridays at 9 PM)! I will be around to see the first 2-3 episodes air¹ before leaving for… uh…

Crap. Am I supposed to tell my parents the whole story?

Anyway, you might recognize this girl from some recent posts. Hey, I know someone who is on TEE-VEE!

I had lunch with Kim and some of the folks working on Whale Wars at the Animal Planet building in New York last week. It was really exciting to get to go into the editing room to see a sneak preview.

Kate Devaney, Eric Cheng, Al Vinjamur, Kirk Kazazian

I stayed in New York for a few days after Dave and Kim’s wedding to catch up with friends and to represent Wetpixel and Sea Shepherd at the LUSH press event.

I was excited to get to hang out some with Ella, Peter and Karine’s daughter. She is a smart one.

Special thanks to Al Vinjamur for letting me stay at his place again. Here are a bunch of photos from the week…

View Photos »

Kim at the Sea Shepherd booth, LUSH press event

Kim McCoy and I manned the Sea Shepherd booth at the LUSH press event at the Hudson Hotel in New York a couple of days ago. I had never before in my life been surrounded by soap people and members of the fashion/fitness press! The female to male ratio was at least 10:1 (which is always nice). (read more »)

View Photos »

Kim McCoy in New York

I spent most of the day fighting with encryption on the Mac. Yargh.

I did, however, get out for meals. I went to Candle Cafe 79 with Kim today, and had some really fantastic vegan food. She hates being in front of a (still) camera, but I’m trying hard to get her used to it. Met up with Tony, Scott, and Ai-Jen for dinner at Josie’s, which was also delicious.

Wedding @ Cipriani — incredible venue

I have never been to a wedding quite like this one. It was really, really well organized, and everything was pretty much perfect. There was a 12-piece band and the most insane spread of appetizers. Congrats, guys! (read more »)

My Dad wrote over email that he was proud of me for “walking through the Stargate (to another planet in a far away Galaxy).” Obviously, it was impossible for me to take photos of myself on stage at Gatecon; luckily, others in the audience were there to snap a few.

Here you go, Dad — two photos of me on stage at Gatecon! (read more »)

I’ve been taking advantage of meals to catch up with friends before I leave town again on Sunday. I took a nice walk past Dolores Park to Tartine for lunch with Cynthia Yu today (and her sister’s beagle puppy in tow — that thing is a people magnet!). Evening plans included a dinner with Dave Patchen and Kim Nash, and I was pleasantly surprised to have Vienna Teng pop up on IM to tell me that she was around for the next 12 hours or so.

dave and kim with vienna’s new sunglasses

vienna teng and eric cheng at brothers

We baked ourselves in boiled kimchi and the fumes of wood coal-grilled bulgogi at Brothers, and then hung out up in the loft at my place until Vienna was forced to move her car at midnight.

And now, I have to go shower off the Korean BBQ smell and burn my clothing.

I just took this one minute typing test (settings: 1 minute, Zebra, WPM). First (and only) attempt.

Net Speed: 104 WPM (words/minute)
Accuracy: 92%
Gross Speed: 113 WPM (words/minute)

I guess I make a lot of mistakes when I type.

Take 1 minute out of your life and take the test. What’s your score? :)

My buddy Jeremy Desmon just wrote me about a new online comedy series he is working on. Check it out!

Hey all,

I’m writing to spread the word about a cool new online comedy series I’m working on, called MAN OF THE PEOPLE: The Only-Recently Discovered Secret Political Recordings of Acting Mayor Francis “Woody” Woodson. The writing is really smart and clever and it stars an amazing crew of Broadway folks. This free audio web serial (with a political bent) “airs” new episodes online every Tuesday through Election Day, November 4th.

Please take a listen! Go to www.woody4mayor.com hit the “Play” button. That’s it. It’s that simple. Even better, subscribe to receive weekly emails or have iTunes automatically download each episode as it goes online. And it’s free! From the press release: “Akin to comedic serials “Prairie Home Companion” or Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible,” MAN OF THE PEOPLE echoes radio plays of the past, while providing an up-to-the-minute, satirical take on the 2008 election through the guise of a heated mayoral race in the fictional hamlet of Daltonville (pop. 1799). Comprised of the “found” tapes of a small-town mayor secretly audiotaping his every political move, this episodic download follows Woody Woodson as he drags Daltonville through a series of political minefields, trudging along his quixotic quest for re-election (and, of course, his place in history).” Listen (and subscribe) at www.woody4mayor.com!

Enjoy,
Jeremy

ON FACEBOOK? ON iTUNES? GOT THREE MINUTES? We hope you’ll enjoy the series so much, you’ll subscribe and share it with others over time. But, as we launch, could you please take three minutes to help us spread the word?

(One minute) On Facebook? Go to www.snipurl.com/woody4mayor (it may ask you to login to facebook). Select “Post to Profile” at the top and click the “Post” button. That’s it. This helps us immensely. (Feel free to write a nice comment.)

(Two minutes) Got iTunes? Go to www.snipurl.com/iTunesSubscribe and click “Subscribe.” That’s it. No obligation to listen, but an initial blast of podcast subscribers (that’s you!) really, really helps us get exposure through iTunes rankings. So thank you so much. (Super-Duper-Bonus-Help: Know how to post comments at the iTunes Store? Please, please do, and say nice things!)

(Advanced Web Folks Only) On StumbleUpon? Reddit? Something else? Please use your web savvy to help us spread the word! Go to www.woody4mayor.com, click “ShareThis” and work your magic. Thanks!

kim mccoy, paul watson, me, an asgard, and linda, the asgard’s keeper

lord watson rules from lord ba’al’s throne

“it’s an honor,” richard dean anderson says when he meets me.
i reply with the same! (photo: adam lau)

amanda is a budding ocean conservationist!

I’m having a lot of fun here, and the Stargate fans in attendance seem to be really excited about the ocean and finding out what they can do to spread awareness of conservation issues.

My first log splitting. It was actually quite satisfying! Thanks, Adam for the video. There is a still image of me at the moment of splitting, and my expression is bizarre. (read more »)