Texas is a big state with lots of things to do. I am not sure one visit would be enough. I luckily have friends who live in different areas of the state so I should be able to plan several trips to get the most out of the state especially when it comes to making plans to visit my friends in Houston.
I just came across this beautiful historic site, W.H. Stark House that I have to fit into one of the trips even if it is on the wrong side of the state, but thank goodness for those friends in Houston. It is a huge Victorian home turned into a museum located in the City of Orange about 120 miles east of Houston. I absolutely love the Victorian time period. Not that I would have wanted to be a female back in those days as I am certainly not into wearing all the dresses and lace, but I can appreciate the beauty of it all.
Lately I have been really getting into the whole steampunk scene too and this place fits that bill to a tee. Just seeing the outside of this place makes me want to go. It is huge and gorgeous! The folks that built it, William Henry Stark and Miriam Melissa Lutcher Stark, were avid collectors. And we all know collecting is an obsession and not just a hobby. You have got to see the stuff they have online and that is only a small portion of the entire collection on view at the W.H. Stark House.
They even have a bronze death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte. This is right up my morbid little alley. Besides that there is other artwork, beautiful vintage household items (that only the rich then and now could ever hope to own) and not to be missed is the wonderfully steampunk 1909 Hupmobile Roadster. What an amazing looking automobile. What H. G. Wells or Jules Verne fan wouldn’t want to have that vehicle?
While the online images of this place are beyond amazing I truly do suggest that anyone near this place goes there.
With all the horrible drivers out there and the fact that almost everyone I know has been in some kind of accident or fender bender in the past couple of months this little device might be a pretty good idea.
It is a combo camera, dvr, LCD screen and rear view mirror. It records all the action in fromt of you catching all the evidence if an accident or aggressive drive happens your way. Check out the car camera for more info or to buy this cool device.
Have we gone too far? Are we getting closer to fulfilling Orwell’s prophecy in 1984? Is big brother watching us? Well yes, we have and he is, but big brother is not always what you think it is. There are video cameras everywhere now. We cannot get away from them so I suppose we must learn to live with them. Cameras point at us from the corners of most every room in public buildings and from street corners. They are there for our protection and safety. Aren’t they? But what about all those personal cameras used to catch our every move. Almost every cell phone has video now and so do the small pocket digital cameras. With nearly every human carrying around a handy digital video camera we never know who or what is being taped or where that tape is going to end up. With the popularity of YouTube and sites like it we will never see the end of this privacy invasion. We as a society must learn to adapt. We must learn to behave if we can. I don’t know if we that is possible. Perhaps we need to add basic manners and social skills to school curriculum. Not that it would matter much as it might already be too late. The worst thing is no one really seems to care. The stuff they see or do anymore doesn’t even embarrass them.
Heaven help us when we start taping and watching each other twenty-four seven. Oh wait, that is already happening. In April Justin. tv was supposed to do just that (I have not checked it out as I have no interest in it). But what about privacy? Doesn’t this require the permission of those people taped before being aired?
Who gives them the right to make money off of me, my image, my likeness? I didn’t sign a model release or contract. Does the average Joe now need to go out and get an agent just so they can get a piece of this pie? You know they cannot do this without making money on it so how do I go about protecting my rights and my interests? This then brings me back to YouTube. They sell ad space even ads right on the videos now. Do I as the producer, director, and writer of these videos get a portion of those profits? I doubt it. In fact I would bet that the terms of service agreement we all ignore, but all agree to, says we get nothing. Perhaps we should strike like the writers in Hollywood and not post to these sites that are making money off our videos.
I used to belong to a site that allowed you to post your own stories. It was very similar to today’s blogs. But they shared their ad revenue with the site contributors. Helium does this to some degree. Other community created sites should think about doing this sort of thing too. Google is working on a site similar to wikipedia and you know they will get money out of it. Shouldn’t the writers for that site make money from their articles? About.com pays their guides to write on the topics they know best. In fact wikipedia should verify their info (hope I haven’t shocked anyone by insinuating that the almighty wikipedia has incorrect information in it) and share any generated revenue with their contributors.
Web 2.0 screams contributor based content. I scream right back at it pay me for the content I post to your site then I will consider posting it there. Otherwise it is mine and I am keeping it. So don’t tape me, photograph me or quote me unless you plan on paying me.
User generated television is the primary goal of YawpBox.com, but unlike AcceptibleTV they are not asking you to create mini television series they want your life story. You get to tell your story to a world wide audience via the website and to a TV audience based in Texas. I am not sure if the television series is or will be going national. In any case you get to have your fifteen minutes of fame thanks to YawpBox TV.
Unlike other online video sharing sites YawpBox offers up its content in categories. You choose which story you want to submit then upload original videos, photos, audio, and blog content then community members vote on your submissions. If you rate high enough from fellow Yawpers your story just might find its way to the YawpBox TV show. According to their website the magazine style TV show is filmed live in front of a television audience in Dallas, Texas using your content, your stories. Not simply reposting a clip from your local news shows without their consent.
The key to this site and I assume the television show too is to use community members stories, photos and video not to be a dumping ground for other people’s copyright material. Thus far it looks as if YawpBox.com needs help in that area as all I could find were photoshopped images, pictures from other sources and video commercials. The best video on the site that I could find was of a couple doing a dance routine at their own wedding. Heck Lex and Terry give you some great homework assignments via the national radio show and TV program so come on folks put on those thinking caps and take up their challenge. YawpBox needs your original content so get to posting. This idea has potential but from what I can see the users are not living up to it at this time.
Literally! Take a look at the world and the universe from a whole new perspective with the help of OpticsPlanet.com. The site has it all from telescopes and binoculars to nightvision goggles and sunglasses. They really are your one stop shop to find that perfect gift for any one interested in either the macroverse or the microverse. They have everything from telescopes to microscopes to meet anyone’s needs.
Personally, I would love just about anything from their online catalog. Except maybe the Raybans, I need prescription glasses, but they have those too. I have always had an interest in optics and different ways to see the world. Perhaps that is why I dabble in photography. I always wanted a telescope so I could hook up my camera back to it and take celestial photos.
Then when I was taking microbiology I got hooked on taking photos with the microscope. And last year I went to Philly to see a great photo exhibit from Nikon on taking pictures with the microscope. Boy, do I wish I had the opportunity to do similar work. Looks like OpticsPlanet.com could help me get there. All I need to do is raise the money.
Underwritten by OpticsPlanet.com they offer FREE shipping on orders of $30 or more.
I know the title of this post sounds pushy but you really won’t regret it. [Unless you by a super cheap one with with only one megapixel resolution that is.]
I was a diehard SLR user who refused to go digital. I never thought I would be happy with the quality of a digital camera. So when I first started coming around and looking for a digital camera I wanted one that have as many features as my SLR film cameras did.
Not an easy task back in 2000. My first thought was to get a digital body to go with all the Minolta lenses I already had. This proved impossible due to the high cost of digital SLR camera bodies at the time. So I started looking at point and shoot digital cameras, but I still kept hitting that same ole wall. I wanted more control the camera than these would provide.
Then I found the Olympus E-10. It was a more reasonably price SLR with the ability to manually focus and both aperture and shutter control as well as fully automatic functions. I bit the bullet and bought it. And I am so glad I did. The images are great. I have taken more photos than I could ever have with film. It has more than paid for itself in all the savings from no longer buying film.
Probably the most satisfying thing about the digital camera is being able to review the images and immediately reshooting if there is a problem or being able to shoot many shots without fear of running out of film.
I have since purchased another small pocket sized Kodak EasyShare V550, which easily fits in a pocket and goes anywhere. I use it almost every day for both personal and professional. Since I purchased my first digital camera I have been taking digital images for several online stores. It was that ease of editing, uploading and share of the photographs that finally convinced me to use one for family and friends pictures too.
The quality of digital cameras have been getting so much better over the years that I see another camera sometime in the near future too. So don’t put it off any longer. Dip into the pool of digital photography.
Christmas time is coming and now is the time for getting all your gifts. If you are like me your list is comprised mostly of electronic items. Well, electronics require power and usually more power than the manufacturer gives us.
Laptops are a number one gift but most only come with a two-hour battery. Not enough battery life if you are out and about. Add more value to that shiny, new gift you’ll be giving.
Another little holiday power tip for you. Pull out those old camcorders now and dust them off. Now is the time to test them out and get new batteries for them so you don’t miss any of those precious memories this year.
If you have a PDA, camcorder, laptop, MP3, portable DVD player or just about any other high tech gadget out there you’ll want to check out AllBatts.com. I just discovered them and have several batteries on my Xmas list now too. If anyone is listening I need both a laptop battery and a new battery for my PDA.
AllBatts.com is a great source for Laptop Batteries, Camcorder Batteries, PDA Batteries, really just about any battery.
