Brandon Shaw Design

Zodak Zi6

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:58:50 -0400

A few months ago I picked up the Kodak Zi6. We already have a pretty nice miniDV camcorder, but I thought the Zi6 might be fun to play with. Well, we haven't used the old camera in a few months now. The Zi6 is very easy to use and the quality is excellent. Here is a recent video from the beach. The mic works really well and you can record up to 720p at 60 frames per second. This comes in handy trying to keep up with he kids.

I copy all the video into iMovie 09 and I haven't experienced any problems. I picked up a 16GB SDHC card and can record for hours at the highest quality setting. The camera comes with rechargeable 'AA' batteries and a charger and they last a long time.

Overall we've been very happy with this camera. I was a little disappointed last week when I heard that Kodak was releasing the Zi8. This model records up to 1080p at 30fps, has an external mic jack, image stabilization and takes 5 megapixel still shots. I think a few companies will be jumping into this market so I'll just wait and see what happens before upgrading.

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The Shell is Complete!

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:31:35 -0400

Well, the shell is finally complete. The siding is up and the concrete has been poured. I think it really turned out nice. I'm not a huge fan of vinyl siding, but the owner really wanted a maintenance free exterior.

As for the interior, the insulation is complete enough to start the drywall and that should begin in about a week.

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Labor Day Vacation

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 21:53:06 -0400

Back from a long weekend at Crystal Mountain Resort in Michigan. It was nice to get away before the hectic fall schedule begins. We did a little geocaching, bike riding, rock wall climbing, relaxing and lot's of swimming.

We really enjoy spending long weekends there. The staff is great and we're always treated well.

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My new miniStack v2's

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:20:52 -0400

Ministack

I just replaced my two INOi firewire drives with two newertechnology miniStack v2 drives. I liked the enclosures, but was concerned about heat and the fact that the drives never spun down. The ministack enclosures have a temperature sensor that attaches to the hard drive and a fan that's controlled by the sensor. The fan only runs when it needs to. Also, these enclosures are very quiet, even with the fans running. The other benefit is that the enclosure will spin the drive down when not in use.

I measured the temperature on the outside of the INOi drive enclosure to be 94℉ and the actual hard drive temperature to be 107℉. My Maxtor Diamondmax 21 hard drive has a maximum operating temperature of 140℉. At 107℉, I was well below the maximum but the fact that it was at this temperature all the time made me nervous.

These ministack enclosures seem faster too. I used the firewire connections on the INOi enclosures and on the ministack enclosures and the ministack's seem faster. I don't have any hard numbers, but I'm guessing the chipset in the ministack is better.

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The stone goes up

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:50:41 -0400

Stone 001

More progress on the house. The stone is up and looking good. All that remains on the exterior is the siding (once the final siding choice has been made).

Work inside is progressing. If all goes well, the plumbing and mechanical inspections will be next week.

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Apple Line - Start of the Line

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:15:09 -0400

Apple Line - Start of the Line
Originally uploaded by rubyconsumer

Here's another one of Rauser and me (back of the line). Looks like this one was taken shortly after we got there (the line isn't too long yet). I had one person ask me what we were waiting for.

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Genius Bar

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 05:26:24 -0400

Genius Bar
Originally uploaded by Burton Warpup

I was at the Briarwood Apple store opening in Ann Arbor on Saturday. I snagged a wireless keyboard and the t-shirt. This was my first Apple store opening. Rauser and I arrived at 7am and were about 30th in line. The three hour wait went fast. I shot some video too, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhtvYgOc1qI

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Interested in Joost?

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Thu, 03 May 2007 16:49:19 -0400

It appears that I have some invites to Joost if anyone is interested. If so, please send me your name and email address.

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Finally, WRC!

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:10:33 -0400

I finally have my WRC coverage! I used to watch it on the Speed channel, but haven't found it there in quite a while. I recently came across Rally Torrents. Many thanks!

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Motorola saves the day!

nobody@vox.com(Shawmaan) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:56:58 -0400

My sincerest thanks go out to those who helped. I received my new phone today and the clear screen looks wonderful.

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