Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready to Head Home
We had a wonderfully fun day at a themed enjoyment park about an hour's drive away. I have 500 pictures to go through, but for this evening, I'll post one of the last I took, of the car in the otherwise empty parking lot with a fiery brilliant sunset going on in the background.
I was literally walking as I took the shot, carrying a couple bags of stuff from the bakery/giftshop in one hand, while shooting with the other. Hey, it's a D700, and you can't take a bad shot with it, right?
It wasn't actually as dark as it appears in the photo, but I had to lower the overall exposure in Lightroom to get the post-sunset sky to appear the way it actually was. Of course, you need a really good monitor to see the colors and the richness. Sadly, it looks flat and dull on my laptop and my joe-consumer Dell monitor....
I recently exchanged some messages with Apple's iTunes Customer Care mail-reading/replying artificial-intelligence system. As one might expect, artificial intelligence systems are still not quite up to the task of replacing the cognitive powers of a human, but as you'll see in the progressively-humorous transcript that follows, Apple's artificial-intelligence system has evolved enough to mimic the quintessential nature of human cluelessness.
I contacted Apple to ask about a restriction in how one can pay for things at iTunes. Now that my PayPal nightmare has been straightened out, and now that I have an iPhone, I thought I'd get some cool apps for the phone at iTunes, paying with the money in my PayPal account.
Unfortunately, it turns out that Apple allows PayPal accounts only if the account has a credit card registered to it. That restriction sort of defeats the purpose of using PayPal in the first place, and at first glance, the restriction seems silly and arbitrary. But I don't know everything.... perhaps there's a good reason for it. I know they won't change their policies for me, but understanding the reason behind the restriction may well assuage the feelings of frustration it has generated, so I asked them.
Here's what I submitted on the iTunes “contact us” form...
I have plenty of cash in my PayPal account. Why do I need to add a credit card or debit card to my PayPal account in order to use the money that I already have in my PayPal account? I have the money and I want to give it to you (in exchange for tunes, of course :-). Why may I not without some unrelated fourth-party card?
Thanks.
A day later, I got the following reply from “Jernise”. It's just a form letter, but the tone is pleasant and chipper...
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:56:42 -0700 (PDT)
Dear Jeffrey ,
Greetings from California! My name is Jernise. I hope this email greets you in good spirits. Your request has been escalated to me and I will help resolve this issue to your satisfaction. To create a new iTunes Store account that uses PayPal as its payment method, or to change an existing account's payment method to PayPal, follow the steps outlined below:
- Make sure you are using the latest version of iTunes. It can be downloaded free of charge on the Apple website at: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download
- Open iTunes and go to the iTunes Store.
- If you do not yet have an iTunes Store account, skip to step 7.
- Sign in with your account by choosing “Sign In” from the Store menu. Enter your account name and password and click Sign In. If you no longer have the password for this account, you can simply have the password reset by visiting Apple's iForgot page at: http://iforgot.apple.com/
- Once signed in, choose “View My Account” from the Store menu.
- Click the Edit Payment Information button to be taken to the Credit Card Information screen, and then skip to step 8.
- Since you don't have an account, choose “Create Account” from the Store menu.
- On the Edit Payment Information screen, select “PayPal” as your method of payment. Note: In order for you to set up your PayPal account for use on the iTunes Store, you are required to have a valid credit card associated with your PayPal account.
- Click the Continue button to be directed to the PayPal website. Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Once your Billing Agreement has been created, click the Return to Merchant button to return to the iTunes Store (do not close your browser without clicking this link). If you experience difficulty with this step, please try following the above steps again using a different web browser.
- Once you are back in the iTunes Store, enter your name, address and phone number into the form, then click Done.
- Select your County, then click Done. Your account should now be using your PayPal account as its method of payment.
- Click Done one more time to be taken to the iTunes Store homepage.
I hope this information proves helpful in answering your questions. If not, I await your reply with the necessary information so that I can assist you further. Thank you for being a member of our iTunes Store community.
Have a great day!
Warmest Regards,
Jernsie
iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Tues - Sat , 6-2:30PM PT California
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
The tone was refreshing, but it didn't at all address my note, except that it repeated in step #8 the restriction that I was asking about. I'm sure that they have to plow through a lot of correspondence, so I can understand the slip, especially when you consider that she sent it almost half an hour after her shift had ended.
I replied...
To: iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
|> Greetings from California!
Hi Jernise,
I used to live a mile and a half from Infinitiy Loop, near 85 and De Anza.
Cupertino's nice, isn't it?
I was wondering whether there's any chance to get a reply directed at my original question. Your reply was in response to “how do I use PayPal?”, but I didn't ask that. Here's what I asked:
I have plenty of cash in my PayPal account. Why do I need to add a credit card or debit card to my PayPal account in order to use the money that I already have in my PayPal account? I have the money and I want to give it to you (in exchange for tunes, of course :-). Why may I not without some unrelated fourth-party card?
I thought the whole point of PayPal was to offer an alternative to credit cards. I already have the money, and I want to give it to Apple. I don't want to use or involve credit.
Thanks,
Jeffrey
A day or two later, Jernsie replied...
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:04:19 -0700 (PDT)
Dear Jeffrey ,
Hello again Jeffrey . I'm sorry for the inconvenience you've experienced while attempting to set up your iTunes Store account to use PayPal as its payment method.
I urge you to try using your operating system's default web browser when setting up a new or existing iTunes Store account to use this method of payment. The problem is occurring when you click the Return to Merchant link with an incompatible browser.
If you continue to experience problems after trying this alternative, you may wish to contact PayPal to be sure your account has been properly verified according to their records.
PayPal
http://www.paypal.com/
Thank you for being an iTunes Store customer. Apple appreciates your business.
Warmest Regards,
Jernsie
iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Tues - Sat , 6-2:30PM PT California
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
Wow, I have no idea what problem she's responding to, but it has nothing to do with anything I wrote.
Since I was only looking for info – I had no hopes of actually getting around the restriction – I decided to just drop the issue rather than continue to exchange mail with what I was starting to suspect was not an actual human. I didn't reply.
However, I eventually got this unsolicited followup....
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:47:45 -0700 (PDT)
Dear Jeffrey ,
Hello .I hate to bother you but I want to make sure the issue you had was corrected to your satisfaction. I am a big fan of Customer Service . I want to be sure you are taken care of.
Have a great day !
Warmest Regards,
Jernsie
iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Tues - Sat , 6-2:30PM PT California
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
Well that's unexpected.
I didn't want to bother them (nor myself) any more with this, but they asked nicely, so I owed them at least a quick reply...
To: iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
iTunes Store <iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com> wrote:
|> Dear Jeffrey , Hello .I hate to bother you but I want to make sure the
|> issue you had was corrected to your satisfaction. I am a big fan of
Hi Jernsie,
No, when I saw that your second reply, like your first, had absolutely
nothing to do with what I asked , I just decided that it was a waste of time
to have contacted Apple customer care.
Do you even get to see what the customer asked before you reply? Your two responses to my query showed no indication that you did.
Jeffrey
Perhaps I worded that a bit stronger than I should have, but it's not like I have to worry about offending an artificial-intelligence program.
The reply only bolstered my belief that it wasn't a human responding....
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:55:34 -0700 (PDT)
Dear Jeffery ,
Hello Jeffery . I apologize for the misunderstanding regarding your issue . I have issued you 5 free song credits for you troubles , again I truly apologize .
Thank you for your patients . Apple appreciates your business .
Warmest Regards,
Jernsie
iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Tues - Sat , 6-2:30PM PT California
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
Well, $4.95 is a nice gesture (and again, it's half an hour after “her” shift has ended), but, uh, what about the whole point to this entire exchange (my original question)?
I sent the following with the thought that it was not actually a human reading these messages, just to see what would happen. Still, I made sure to be polite enough so that I wouldn't be offensive, just in case I was wrong and there was a human – a heretofore clueless, but pleasant human – on the other end.
To: iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
iTunes Store <iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com> wrote:
|> Dear Jeffery ,
I appreciate the sentiment, but it's an answer to my question that I'd really be thankful for. I understand what your policy is (you require the PayPal account to be linked to a credit card), and I understand that you will not change this policy because I ask. I merely want to understand the basis for that policy. Perhaps understanding that the reason is, well, reasonable, will assuage the “big corporation doing randomly arbitrary things” feeling the unexplained policy fosters.
Jeffrey
The reply took the artificial-intelligence cake...
Subject: Re: Account or Billing; Follow-up: 5054303
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:52:28 -0700 (PDT)
Dear Jeffery ,
Hello Jeffery . Thank you for taking the time to contact Apple about improving iTunes. Apple recognizes that no one is better qualified to provide feedback about iTunes than the people who use it.
I encourage you to use the iTunes Feedback page to submit your comments:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html
Your efforts to share your feedback are very much appreciated.
Warmest Regards,
Jernsie
(iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Tues - Sat , 6-2:30PM PT California
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hahaha, I'm not sure how they expect the iTunes-user community to know the answer to an iTunes-policy question when Apple won't even answer it themselves in the first place.
Much of my retirement savings is bound up in Apple stock, a situation that I should perhaps rethink. I'm just not sure whether this episode tells me that I should sell it (because the humans at Apple are clueless), or I should buy more (because Apple has made such great strides in artificial-intelligence software). 🙂
Update one week later: See this followup post for more about this situation, curtsey of the Director of Account Protection at PayPal.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Overcast Day on the Grounds of the Imperial Palace
Kyoto, Japan · Dec, 2007
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
( finally, a touch of sun )
Kyoto's fall foliage season starts very late compared to the rest of the world. Last year's first fall-colors post wasn't until November 3rd, while 2006's was even later (and less colorful). In browsing my blog's full list of posts, or my fall-colors category, you'll find that late November / early December are when Kyoto's fall colors reach their peak.
Two things tell me fall is coming (besides the calendar). One is that it has started to cool a bit. This morning, the temperature dipped below 70°F. The other is my server logs, which have suddenly become full of people looking for “fall foliage” and “fall leaf desktop”. It's not as easy to tell what people are searching for since Google seems to no longer send the search term along to my site, but I can still see the fall-foliage photos that they're ending up at.
I had one good fall-foliage sunny day last year, but otherwise, last year seemed to be mostly cloudy, including the December 3rd visit to the grounds of the old Kyoto Imperial Palace that provides the pictures for today's post...
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — 1/60 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Coulda' Been a Contender
if only there were some sun
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/1500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Touch of Color
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Would Look Better Backlit
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hey, Now There's some Sun!
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Quick, Nab the Photons Before They Disappear
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/250 sec, f/4, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fading...
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/350 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Muddy Colors
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical (but underlit) Momiji
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sun, and a Cornucopia of Colors
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nicely Backlit
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
To Be Continued...
The grounds of Kyoto's old Imperial Palace, now a huge park, are full of beauty and kid fun throughout the year (but especially in the fall and in the spring). Clicking on the “nearby photos” link under any of the photos above will bring up photos taken nearby, from other posts that have appeared on my blog over the years.
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
My lingering cold finally unlingered enough today that I could venture out for a bit: Anthony for a bike ride, and me to give my new Nikon D700 a spin. Other than the 20-minute night-time outing that resulted in the Impossible Photography post and its followup, I hadn't been outside with the D700 since the day I got it (the day I returned to Kyoto from summer travels).
I grabbed my biggest zoom (Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR and a 1.7× Extender), and put the camera into “Auto ISO” mode such that it'll kick up the sensitivity as needed to keep a fast shutter speed. I set the top ISO to 6400; if that's not enough, it'll then lower the shutter speed as needed for the shot.
We went out about 45 minutes before sunset, and we were mostly in the shade of the setting sun, so we quickly got into high-ISO situations....
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/640 sec, f/4.8, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Equipment Check
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/640 sec, f/4.8, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Negotiating Traffic
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Riding The Circuit
Anthony rode around the same little path on which he first rode a bike almost half his life ago. The park area that the path is in looks pretty ragged today, but it has its moments of beauty (autumn · spring · winter).
While he rode, I sat and relaxed, got bitten my mosquitos, and took pictures of whatever wandered in view...
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/640 sec, f/4.8, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Glow of the Setting Sun
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 240 mm — 1/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Flying By
with a smile
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.8, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Quality Time
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.8, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Granite Monolith
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Swarm of Birds
gathering half a mile away, up at the top of the mountain, near from where I took this shot
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Waiting
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Two-Wheeled Dog
On the way back, Anthony stopped at a playground to play, and I aimlessly snapped shots, including one of a bolt sticking out of a rusty pole that is wholly unremarkable except the low-light circumstances under which it was taken...
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 320 mm — 1/50 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wholly Unremarkable
so much so that it's worth discussing
The sun had been set for 10 minutes, but some high-up clouds were still catching a few rays....
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 120 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.8, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
10 Minutes After Sunset
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 125 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.8, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
The shot above is a case where the dynamic range of the camera just wasn't enough to capture both the detail in the clouds and the detail in the river/trees (which weren't really as dark yet as they appear here, because I opted to expose for the sky). It's a pretty area; click on the “nearby photos” link under the shot for lots of pretty pictures taken here.
Not far away, under the brightness of an “artificial sun” light, construction crews continued working on burying the power lines, a project that has been going on in one form or another since early 2006. I wouldn't mind that it takes so long if they'd actually get rid of the power lines. So far, it's all been preparation, apparently.
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 340 mm — 1/320 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Choreographer
Finally, just before arriving home, I snapped a shot of this warm cafe window...
Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f/2.8 + 1.7× Extender @ 200 mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dinner in Hand
I really like the first and third shots (of Anthony, so I might be a bit biased), but otherwise, there's not really anything exciting here except for the low-light circumstances under which they were taken. In the same way in which people were once excited by a car that could go a whopping 20mph, I'm sure that the excitement over these kind of results in these kind of situations will wane quickly in the coming years.
But for now, it sort of like getting an extra couple of hours of daylight, which is spiffy.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cute
Visiting Anthony's kindergarten for their making-mochi event last January, I noticed this on a bulletin board. I thought it was cute, so I snapped a picture.