mangochutney

Not (just) because 2016 is a giant dumpster fire and I can't wait for it to be over but because Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 is scheduled to be released in May 2017.

Here's the first official trailer.

Microsoft has really come into its own as a computer manufacturer in recent years — the Surface Studio is another example of that. When it was announced in late October, I thought it was a brilliant idea. It's such an interesting and well executed device, I'm kind of sad that I have absolutely no use for one.

For the niche Microsoft is trying to capture with this flagship device, it will likely be a welcome alternative to using a PC or Mac with a Wacom pen display or tablet.

This review by the Tom Warren over on The Verge provides an in-depth look at the device, the usage modes, and its shortcomings and is well worth watching.

I don't really like sparkly water, I have very little interest carbonators, there's enough controversy around sodastream's business practices, and I'm really curious about the environmental impact of the cartridge production and logistics…

But this ad is clever and the message is a good one.

Today my Apple Watch recommended I increase my daily calorie goal. Again. Ugh.

I've reached my activity goals every day for the past 43 days and it's starting to show. A big part of what keeps me motivated each day, is Activity Sharing: a feature that allows me to privately, securely, and easily share my daily progress with friends and colleagues.

It is really cool that a friend of mine from Australia and I can engage in some healthy—no pun intended—competition and help each other stay on track.

Along with the increased activity, I started slowly changing my diet. So far, I've simply reduced the amount of sweets I eat and substituted some of the carbs I usually eat with slightly fattier foods.

Besides being generally fitter and more alert, I find that all the exercise really helps with my mood and motivation throughout the day.

The Apple Watch has been great as a fitness tracker for me in the past six months but Activity Sharing improved on this a lot.

Now I need to get up and get moving because the dog just woke up; she wants to go for a walk and I have a couple hundred calories to burn before I fill that ring today.

Brotherly love and compassion my ass!

I am ridiculously excited for this movie.

I'm inching closer to September 2016 with my snapshot posts. Quick as a snail.

Walking the dogs always gives you the nicest opportunities to test out camera features like continuous focus. These two were running full speed at me and the camera tracked Bijou (the big one) very well considering I was shooting in dim light at ƒ/2 with the XF56mmF1.2 R.

Cold weather? Check
Dim light at dusk? Check
Shallow depth of field? Check
I do enjoy taking photos like this.

Favourite pastime for the dogs: sleeping. They just look too darn cute when they're exhausted from a long walk.

I saw this scene, rushed home with the dog, grabbed my tripod and camera, and ran back hoping the moon hadn't wandered too to get this shot.

This is another one of those pictures that perfectly captures Mika's character. She's lying in the bean bag chair, completely relaxed, looking like she owns it.
Considering that she's a rescue from Romania where she lived off trash and meat scraps for a long time, she's become quite the diva.

It's rare to see a well made commercial outside of the U.S. Super Bowl but this one, for the French fashion company Kenzo, certainly qualifies.

The ad—if you can still really call it that at a duration of 3:48—features the actress Margaret Qualley leaving a boring formal event and breaking into an impressive dance performance.

If you just watched this and thought it kinda reminded you of the video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" with Christopher Walken, that's not a coincidence because the director, Spike Jonze, was responsible for that one, too. Slashfilm has an article with more information about the video and, of course, people on the internet made several video comparisons of this ad and the Weapon of Choice video. The following is just one of them:

This is a such a good critique of the movie. Watch it.

Flashback 2001: Remembering an early Digital Camera. The Sony F707.

I stumbled across this article while drinking my morning coffee and smiled all the way through.

Back in 2001 I was working part-time at an electronics retailer in Mainz, Germany besides school. At that time, digital cameras were found in the computer department and not with film cameras.

The F707 was a small marvel. It looked utterly alien for a camera even back then and boasted a few incredible features like proper infrared night vision that could either work on its own or a a focussing aid in almost complete darkness. It also had a LASER focussing system which was insanely cool and worked quite well.

Back then, Sony reclaimed goods if they weren't sold in stores after a while and before that happened, they were usually offered to store employees at a heavy discount. I snagged the one remaining F707 we had in the store, making this not only my first digital camera but my first own camera, period.

It holds a special place in my heart and the fact that it still works is just bonus.