“Especially Large Polyvinyl Bag”
as seen at a local home center
We were at Kansai International Airport yesterday, seeing Fumie's mom off on a trip to Hawaii (finally taking a trip with some friends, first planned 10 years ago!). Afterwards we went up to the airport-view restaurant to have a drink and some snacks (Anthony got to have a $5 orange juice!), and watch the planes take off. It was late and Anthony was tired, but he behaved himself wonderfully, and as we were paying the bill, the waiter grabbed a big handful of candy and gave it to Anthony.
On the surface this was a kind gesture. Certainly, kids love candy, and he wanted to make Anthony happy, and that's a wonderful sentiment that any parent appreciates.
But it's also a dangerous thing, because while it's fine if the child can have what's given, it only creates pain and trouble if the child is not allowed to have what's given (say, due to allergies or diabetes.... or because his parents generally don't give him candy and don't want to start now).
Anthony has a lifetime of junk food ahead of him, so at three years old, we don't feel the need to pump him full of it now. At home he drinks milk, water, or barley (non-caffeinated) tea, and he's quite happy with it. He doesn't know he's missing junk-food drinks like soda and “fruit-flavored juicy drinks”. When we go out to a restaurant, he's allowed to have juice (orange, apple, etc.).
We almost never give chips or sweets or chocolates or any host of junk foods. He doesn't feel deprived at all, because he doesn't know what he's missing. He loves raisins and dried blueberries and cherry tomatoes and strawberries as snacks. Occasionally, we'll have cake or something, but he knows that these are during special times, and that makes them all the more special.
Anyway, if you are ever in the situation like the waiter and want to give a kid a treat, ask the parents first. And do so out of earshot (or with a linguistic level beyond the understanding of the kid), or it's the same as just giving it (because it makes just as much trouble saying “no” when asked as when given).
I've found myself a number of times having some snack or other with Anthony (aforementioned fruits, etc.) and had a two- or three-year-old kid look with those I-really-want-some-too eyes. I ask the parents, and normally it's fine that I go ahead and share with the kid, but there have been times when they've said no (one was allergies, and one I don't know), so I just finished up quickly and put it away.
Frankly, I wouldn't have thought about this issue prior to having a kid myself. But now that I have, I'll go ahead and share this advice with my vast readership. 🙂
My Tech-Related Photography Posts
- My Lightroom-to-iPad Workflow
- Lightroom Goodies (lots of plugins)
- Digital Image Color Spaces
- Online Exif (Image Data) Viewer
- Jeffrey's Autofocus Test Chart
- Photoshop Calendar-Template-Building Script
- How to Prepare Photos for an iPad
- A Qualitative Analysis of NEF Compression
- Tripod Stability Tests
more...
This is a followup to a previous post in which I did writing-speed tests of a Transcend 80x 4GB Compact Flash card, with a Nikon D200. This time, I'm testing the 120x version, which I just received today after I purchasing it for 29,000 yen (about US $250) from an online shop.
The tested card's model number is TS4GCF120 and its serial number is 129542-0419.
As before, the test was done with a newly-formatted card with the D200 in manual-focus, manual-exposure (1/200, wide-open aperture) mode at ISO 1600. Measurements were taken from audio-recordings using Adobe Audition. The tests were of uncompressed raw “NEF” images, which are about 15.6 megabytes each.
| Card Tested | Initial frames at 5 fps | Subsequent Frames | Total Frames in One Minute | Maximum Write Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transcend 4GB 80x | 22 | 2.156 sec/frame | 48 | 7.23 MB/sec |
| Transcend 4GB 120x | 22 | 2.265 sec/frame | 46 | 6.88 MB/sec |
This new 120x card is actually slower than the 80x card. This is disappointing, to say the least.
[UPDATE Feb 8th: I contacted Transcend Japan and was able to test another card ]
What a difference a day makes – I feel so much better today than yesterday. It's great to be alive.
So, I can finally write about my first outing with my new Nikon D200, which was before I got my cold. The Kyoto City Fire Department had their annual New Year Exhibition, pretty much just outside our front door. According to the press release, there were some 3,000 people, 57 vehicles, and 5 helicopters involved – numbers that add up to fun and interest for Anthony.
I'd only received my camera the previous evening, and for the most part had no idea really how to use it. I put in on aperture-priority and left my lens wide open, and for the most part let the camera figure out the rest. I wanted the lens wide open because a tangibly short depth of field was something I could play with right off the bat. (I do remember something from my high-school photography-nerd days.)
It started out sunny, and the pictures came out fine, but as it became overcast and dreary, the pictures showed more and more that I wasn't doing something right. (I just got the English manual today, so hopefully I can dig in and start learning soon.)
I had the camera produce the smallest JPG it can (1,296 x 1,936 pixels – about 2.5 megapixels), which is what all these pictures are derived from. I also had it produce, in parallel, a full-detail raw version of each image, which I can refer to if I eventually need the full 10-megapixel 3,872 × 2,592 glory for any particular picture.
Anyway, on with the photos. The full complement of photos can be found on our photo site. What follows now are just a few highlights....
| Fire trucks waiting
to take part in the parade |  |
 Checking out the trucks |
 Lots of people standing at attention for the speeches |
 Watching the band mustering in preparation. |
 | Mommy's first time with Daddy's big new
camera and she pulled it off like a pro |
 My attempt at an interesting shot |
A
“Super Command Rescue Team” |  |
 | A line of at least eight
water-squirting, |
 Checking out the window of a local police box |
 Not really in a take-my-picture mood |
 A bit of orange juice makes everything better |
 | Oops! Taking a detour through a rock garden on the way home |
| Checking out the pidgins, and being checked out |  |
|
Again, the full series is on our photo site.
I'm sick and tired of being sick. It seems that in the last six months I've been sick more than in the previous six years. I seem to spend about one week a month with a mild cold, and this week is no different (except that this weeks' cold seems particularly drawn out).
Amazingly, and to the wonderful contrary, Anthony has had very few colds. Ever. I can't even remember the last time he was sick. I do remember that he was pretty sick while I was in Ohio for the summer (with a temperature of 104+), but he may well have not been sick since. He goes to playcare three times a week, so I'm sure he's virtually swimming in bacteria and virus, but he always just seems to be fine.
Mmmm, it's generally Daddy's job to do the to/from playcare transport, so maybe it's my visiting the playcare petri dish that's giving me all these colds?
Whatever it is, I'm sick of it!