My favourite camera strap by a long shot is the Eddycam Edition "35mm" in all black. It's comfortable, robust, and the design is understated. I bought it alongside my Fujifilm X-Pro2 last year and kept it on the camera since then.

As much as I like this strap, there are two downsides to carrying my camera with a strap attached to the eyelets on either side of the body:

• When using heavier lenses on the body, the camera becomes front-heavy, making it dangle uncomfortably when carried over the shoulder, around the neck, and diagonally across the body.
• I can't switch to using a wrist strap in those rare situations when I want to and wrapping the neck strap around my wrist is impractical and doesn't give me the secure feeling a wrist strap does.

After a bit of searching for a quick-release solution to attach my Eddycam to, I ended up with the Peak Design Anchor Links. I have a couple Peak Design camera accessories and straps and their quick connectors are second to none. The system is a bit bulky which was my one small, but ultimately unfounded, concern about pairing the Anchor Links with the Eddycam 35mm strap: it might've ruined the clean looks of the X-Pro2 + black Eddycam strap combination.

The big benefit of using a quick connector system like the Peak Design Anchor Links, is having a new option to carry my camera when attaching larger lenses like the XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR zoom, or the XF90mmF2 R LM WR. If I'm going to be using either of those lenses for a significant amount of time, I always attach the additional hand grip MHG-XPRO2 to my camera, which has a little gap on the right side of the base that is perfect for attaching one of the Anchor Disks — I'm honestly not sure if this is an intentional feature of the hand grip, but it's undeniably useful :)

With the strap attached to one of the eyelets on the camera and the small gap in the hand grip, the camera will now hang vertically on my side, making the combination more stable and comfortable to carry.

I'm really happy with the result of this experiment and the increased versatility of this camera strap setup. The only thing missing now is an Eddycam wrist strap with an Anchor Link, as I don't find the Peak Design wrist strap very comfortable.

The Verge has a really funny article up, about Juicero, the USD 700 USD 400 Wi-Fi-connected "juicer". The story behind and around this thing is utterly ridiculous and funny, especially once you realise that investors were convinced this is a good idea. Go ahead, read the article and watch the video; it's worth it for the laughs:

Turns out Juicero’s ludicrous Wi-Fi juicer is even more unnecessary than it sounds — by Jacob Kastrenakes @ The Verge

Calling this device a juicer stretches the term almost past its breaking point:

• It merely squeezes pre-made juice packs into a glass.
• It doesn't produce juice from fresh fruit or vegetables.
• It's impractical because the small juice packs have to be replaced constantly and you have to put a glass beneath it by yourself.
• It produces a huge amount of non-degradable waste, unlike, you know, an actual juicer.
• It's not a stretch to assume a real juicer will give you fresher juice and store-bought organic juice is probably just as good.
• It forces you to buy juice packs from the company behind the Juicero.
• It's an Internet of Things device for no apparent reason other than to save you from having to push a button when you arrive in the kitchen (hoping that you remembered to put a glass beneath it beforehand).
• It's probably easily compromised because I can't see a Silicon Valley startup caring about properly securing their IoT devices.
• It, eventually, creates more problems than it solves and fails at being what it claims: a juicer.

It boggles my mind that this thing was a) thought of as a good idea, b) developed beyond the basic conceptual stage, c) funded (!), and d) made into an actual product you can buy.

The Fuji Guys Canada posted a video walkthrough of the new firmware for the X-Pro2 (v3.0) and X-T2 (v2.0) on youtube.

If you own either of these cameras, it's a good way to get to know the new features, improvements, and changes.

Fujifilm's practice of constantly evolving their cameras using firmware updates is something that gives me a really good feeling as a customer of theirs. With each major update my Fujifilm cameras have gained meaningful new features, felt snappier than before, saw gains in autofocus, continuous autofocus, or reduced electronic viewfinder blackout times.

In yesterday's core segment of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver dug into the talking points Republicans have for discussing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Let me repeat that: he didn't dig into the actual bill to repeal it, or the bill that would replace the ACA, but the talking points Republicans use to rile up support for the repeal.

As usual, it's an interesting piece that shows just how much Republicans hate the poor, the sick, and those in need.

Watch it and make up your own mind about whether it's a good idea to repeal it.

My admiration of Samantha Bee and her team behind Full Frontal is no secret.

This recent video highlights the hypocrisy by politicians, large parts of the infotainment industry, and political pundits that is trying to pit the needs of veterans of the U.S. military against helping refugees from Syria and other war-torn places around the globe.

It also shows the side of the U.S.A. that reminds me why it was called the land of the free and it fills me with hope.

This is the side of America, that the U.S. people must keep from being destroyed by the white supremacists, racists, anti-semites, islamophobes, and criminals that Trump—who lost the popular vote—is drawing into the White House out of the swamps he vowed to drain, and the dark crevices in hell that even the devil won't look into.

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:

I've watched Batman v Superman a couples of times now. I enjoyed the movie for the most part. It has some very serious problems with representing women that were hard to look past most of the time and made me cringe. Walking out of the cinema on premiere weekend—fittingly, the Metropolis in Frankfurt—discussing the movie with my sister, I felt that apart from aforementioned issue, something was off with the movie, that it felt like a bunch of snapshots of events put together, making it hard to find any sort of golden thread.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across this interesting video review with an overly sensationalistic title, capturing this particular issue pretty well:

All in all, it was an entertaining film and the extended edition is a bit better, in my opinion.

Yes, Wonder Woman was severely underrepresented in the movie but what saved it for me was the feeling that in the few moments Wonder Woman was on screen, the writers, the director, and most importantly Gal Gadot managed to capture the core of the character. She's educated, smart, more experienced and more level-headed than Batman or Superman, strong, a formidable fighter, and a true warrior.

There was a scene in the fight against Doomsday, where she was thrown back by a mighty blow of the creature but catching herself, the look on her face showed determination and the joy of battle.

It reminded me of one of my favourite moments in DC's New 52 run when Superman and Wonder Woman became a couple. Batman was explaining his misgivings about their relationship to Superman by showing Supes a number of boxes stored in a secure corner of the Bat Cave. Each of these boxes contained countermeasures for each member of the Justice League, should they ever go rogue. The only one he didn't have a countermeasure for, was Wonder Woman. He deemed her so powerful that the only way to stop her, if turned evil, would be Superman.

I sincerely hope that the 2017 Wonder Woman and the Justice League movies capture all facets of the character; the grace, the wisdom, the unshakeable belief in doing the right thing, the knowledge that sacrifices are sometimes necessary in battle, and not just the looks and fighting skills. The ComicCon trailer does look promising:

Bonus: "Everything Wrong With Batman v Superman"

After one visit to the local animal shelter and three walks supervised by a dog trainer, Bijou moved in with us one year ago today.

Bijou, the first time we met her at the animal shelter in Trier

The shelter didn't have much information about her and we were only able to piece together a little more: She supposedly was about seven years old when we met her, is a mix between a Border Collie and a German Wirehaired Pointer, has lived not too far from Trier with a woman for five years, who adopted her out of a French animal shelter when Bijou was not even two years old. When the woman died unexpectedly and no one in her family would take Bijou in, she ended up in the animal shelter in Trier.

The day she moved in with us, completely exhausted

The first few months after the adoption haven't been without issues, what with the surprise that the spayed dog we picked up going into heat about a week after she moved in with us, the discovery that the reason for some of her crooked claws is a genetic disorder which thankfully hasn't resurfaced again, so far, and the surgery she had to go through in December 2015 to have her spleen removed because her vet discovered growing masses in it.

Bijou after her spleen removal surgery, in a children's dinosaur onesie that we got her in lieu of an Elizabethan collar

The good thing is that Bijou didn't mind the frequent visits to the vet and quickly became the staff favourite at the clinic because she was so incredibly relaxed, never showing even the smallest signs of aggression during the examinations.

Relaxing after a long day at the beach in the Netherlands

The way she behaved towards the staff of the veterinary clinic was the first indicator that had found an incredible dog. She also has little to no hunting instinct which, on a few occasions, made for fun encounters with cats, foxes, deer, horses, and cows. Especially deer were surprised not to be chased or barked at, to the point of coming closer to us during a few walks.

On the other hand, she's a walking food vacuum and loves to try anything and everything as long as it smells tasty. I do consider this a positive, though, because we can get her to do all sorts of things for food.

First attempt at teaching Bijou a patience trick

I grew up around dogs and have met all sorts. I can say without a doubt that I've never met a dog as relaxed as Bijou. She seems to be utterly and completely unflappable. We were particularly happy to see that all she needs to accept a new environment or situation, is seeing me and my girlfriend being at ease.

She's a bit protective towards us when it comes to other dogs and we found out that she seemingly never learned to play the way dogs usually do. She never reacts aggressively towards playful dogs, though, and she is quick to accept anyone that we consider a part of the pack. Like Mika, a dog from a family member that we had the pleasure of caring for for a few months while they were recuperating from a knee injury.

Bijou, Mika, and I napping in the bean bag chair

One thing Bijou never understood, though, is Mika's obsession with digging in the ground hunting rodents:

It's been an eventful first year with her with a few downs and many, many ups. She has enriched our lives immensely in innumerable ways and we hope that she will spend many more years as part of our family.

Bijou, watching us eat our Christmas dinner from the couch

This was just another one of youtube ads that starts playing before the video you actually want to watch but the narrator's voice and the immediate shushing by the nun stopped me from clicking it away after five seconds.

Watch it, it's a well made ad about an incredible person:

If you want to know more about the Iron Nun, here you go:
Meet the Iron Nun, the 82-Year-Old Ironman World Record Holder Who Can't Be Stopped

Exhibit 1: Young husky doesn't get the whole howling business

Exhibit 2: German Shepherd Howls with the wolves in 'Zootopia'

Found on: Tastefully Offensive

Exhibit 3: 'Soap Bubble Dragon'

cynological:

That’s a weird dragon.

Found on: The Frogman

Exhibit 4: Two completely different personalities

Exhibit 5: Husky Maya blows bubbles in her water bowl

Found on: Tastefully Offensive