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Circle. Square. Triangle.
Feb. 28th, 2017 08:39 pmBrazil's Olympic park is crumbling into ruins, some six months on. I'm saddened by the waste, but even more by the fact that it's an Olympic venue that's being lost. I've loved the Olympics and their pompatus since Montreal.
At the same time, I'd be a great hypocrite if I didn't admit to a certain amount of schadenfreude over seeing the Brazilians having spent themselves into penury and civil unrest having opportunistically grabbed an Olympics that I still think ought to have been awarded to Chicago. That's petty on my part, but that's the truth of the matter.
Even more deeply than that, I feel anger at the Brazilian people for complaining about this. They got the Olympics handed to them, and now, having been so privileged, they're whining because they have to pay for them.
*****
Driverless race cars. On the one hoof, automobile racing was begun to give engineers a way to test competing designs against one another. In that sense, this is perfectly within the spirit of racing. Considered as a sport, though, this is an atrocity worse than traction control. That being said, I'd love to watch an exhibition race between these cars, just for the novelty value.
It bothers me that they have cockpits and windscreens.
I wonder if they'll start selling rides in those?
*****
I'm still amazed by how lightweight all of my new DSLR gear is compared to the old Olympus OM-1n. I finally replaced the heavy, old steel Gitzo tripod that I've had since high school with a very light Sunpak aluminum and plastic one. It seems more than heavy enough for the camera, plus has stabilizer bars at the bottom that can be sandbagged if need be, the lack of which was always one of the Gitzo's failings.
I rebuilt the old camera harness again, as well, in preparation for summer. It's a Tamrac "race horse" newsman's harness (holds the camera tightly against your body, and keeps it from bumping as you run) that I got in like 1979 or so, and has served me faithfully since then though a variety of cameras, and several rebuilds. It, too, is designed for a heavy steel 35mm, and the DSLR feels *so* light carried that way with the weight distributed on your shoulders.
Tamrac don't even make harnesses anymore - they're all about backpacks and lens carriers now. It's one of the more useful things I ever bought, and I'm surprised they don't make them anymore.
At the same time, I'd be a great hypocrite if I didn't admit to a certain amount of schadenfreude over seeing the Brazilians having spent themselves into penury and civil unrest having opportunistically grabbed an Olympics that I still think ought to have been awarded to Chicago. That's petty on my part, but that's the truth of the matter.
Even more deeply than that, I feel anger at the Brazilian people for complaining about this. They got the Olympics handed to them, and now, having been so privileged, they're whining because they have to pay for them.
*****
Driverless race cars. On the one hoof, automobile racing was begun to give engineers a way to test competing designs against one another. In that sense, this is perfectly within the spirit of racing. Considered as a sport, though, this is an atrocity worse than traction control. That being said, I'd love to watch an exhibition race between these cars, just for the novelty value.
It bothers me that they have cockpits and windscreens.
I wonder if they'll start selling rides in those?
*****
I'm still amazed by how lightweight all of my new DSLR gear is compared to the old Olympus OM-1n. I finally replaced the heavy, old steel Gitzo tripod that I've had since high school with a very light Sunpak aluminum and plastic one. It seems more than heavy enough for the camera, plus has stabilizer bars at the bottom that can be sandbagged if need be, the lack of which was always one of the Gitzo's failings.
I rebuilt the old camera harness again, as well, in preparation for summer. It's a Tamrac "race horse" newsman's harness (holds the camera tightly against your body, and keeps it from bumping as you run) that I got in like 1979 or so, and has served me faithfully since then though a variety of cameras, and several rebuilds. It, too, is designed for a heavy steel 35mm, and the DSLR feels *so* light carried that way with the weight distributed on your shoulders.
Tamrac don't even make harnesses anymore - they're all about backpacks and lens carriers now. It's one of the more useful things I ever bought, and I'm surprised they don't make them anymore.
