We began by looking at how big the Death Star is. The first one is reported to be 140km in diameter and it sure looks like it’s made of steel. But how much steel? We decided to model the Death Star as having a similar density in steel as a modern warship. After all, they’re both essentially floating weapons platforms so that seems reasonable.

To be filed under “Future projects”.

(via Kottke.org)

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I’ve been shooting film on and off for a couple of months now. First with the Canon 1000D my aunt gave me (with a 18-55 F/3.5-5.6) and later with a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm F/1.8 (which was a gift from Manuel). The AE-1 is still in great condition, has a working light meter and it’s really fun to shoot with.

And this week I finally had my first shot developed. I had them scanned and put on a cd right away, since printing was/is a lot more expensive and I wanted them digital anyway (that’s kind of a weird twist right?). Picked them up last night and oh my, they are looking good.

The best thing about it? I shot these over a period of 6 months and I didn’t have a clue what I had shot exactly. So in a way, these images are memories. Where a digital camera gives you the immediate satisfaction of being able to (re)view your shot, an analog camera frees you up to be creative in the moment and not “worry” about what the photo is going to look like because there isn’t anything you can do about it, so you might as well shoot. Love it.

In this batch of film, most of the shots were from my 2 trips to London in September, you can find the full set here and some examples bellow.

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When I say film I don’t mean moving images, I mean taking photographs on film. Good old 35mm film. I was born in 1986 and started photography in 2004 (I think), so I never really shot anything analog. (expect for the 36 shots throw away cams we took on holiday when I was little)

Now meet 2 good friends of mine: Sara and Filip. They run a site called Tales On Film and they are absolutely mad crazy about analog photography. After visiting them a couple of times, I remembered that my aunt had given me an old Canon a couple of years earlier. She had switched to a digital camera and kinda dumped the analog one with me. So Filip sold me some rolls of film and I was good to go.

And I confess, it sure is a thing of beauty. (And I’m not even talking about the final result yet, I’m yet to have a roll of film developed)

When I take a digital shot, it’s hardly never right on the money from the first time. But that’s ok, it’s digital. You look at the back display, you change some settings, you reframe, take 2 and repeat when needed. With film that obviously isn’t possible. But that implies that you only get one crack at the shot. It has to be right there and then. No second changes, no reshoots, that exposure is gone.

It’s also magical. As a kid of the digital age, the thought of a shutter opening and exposing a strip of actual plastic film is kind of strange to me. It’s only X number of exposures, it’s a set sensitivity and it’s set to either color of black/white. You can’t just change “cards” and start over, you have to finish that roll before you can use another type of film. All obvious things, I know, but none the less these are limitations that force the photographer to change his/her mindset completely. (I know, get it right in camera and all that. Come back in 15 years, maybe I’ll get that by than)

I’ve been on 2 city trips during the last month and on both I found myself grabbing for the analog camera rather than the digital one (or two) I had with me. Analog has a simplicity in that you are the one that has to make the picture (if you catch my drift..). When shooting digital, I often find myself taking 5/6 shots of the same thing to get to the shot I have in mind. I’ll change lenses to see if that does the trick and spend even more time on the same shot. When shooting analog, all that has to happen in my head before taking the shot and that process is very enjoyable (more so than taking the shot over and over again with a digital camera).

Will analog replace digital for me? Hell no. Off course not. But I will keep shooting film regularly. To push myself out of the comfort zone that digital has kind of become. To force myself to think about my shots. And hopefully, my digital shots will benefit from this.

The Metal Gear series has been around for over 25 years now and is still being played all over the world. With its complex but enthralling story lines, combination of stealth and action gameplay and a series of unforgettable characters, it is fair to say that Metal Gear is something of an institution.

The original Metal Gear Solid was one of the first games I ever played (over 10 years ago on the Playstation my uncle got me) and boy did I love it. According to the review, the first 2 original games are also included in this bundle so that would definitely be a plus.

Can’t wait to play this.

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Fast forward to marathon day. I had my little iPod shuffle with me but didn’t listen to it from the start. I wanted to soak up the atmosphere, the other runners around me, the city (Stockholm, Sweden). About 27 kilometers in the race, I ran into the wall, a moment feared by runners when both your legs basically go on strike. I had to stop, stretch, eat and drink for a good 5 minutes. And then the hardest part: get going again. People were passing me left and right and I had no clue how I would possibly get running again, let alone finish the race. So I took out my iPod, put on Jimmy Eat World’s Pain (skipping back to the beginning when the song was almost over) for the next 30 minutes and started moving again, step by step.

At about 3 kilometers before the finish, the crowds along side the road got bigger and louder, so I stuffed away my earbuds and iPod and depended on the people’s cheers to keep me going. As I turned the last corner before entering the Olympic stadium where the finish was, I felt a sense of relief, it couldn’t possibly go wrong anymore, I had made it. As I entered the stadium and ran across the finish line, I was still repeating the words to Pain in my head.

After the marathon in Stockholm, I found that I liked to do most of my running without any technology (getting back to the point here). I’d leave everything at home: no phone, no iPod, no gps watch, no heart rate monitor. I’d just check the time before I left and head out, with the route I planned on running roughly in my head. This gets back to what running is for me. (and largely: why I even bother to run at all) It’s a chance to clear my head after of stressful day at work and to let my mind wonder and think about whatever pops up, a chance to spend time with my own thoughts and to “get my ducks in a row”.

So running with technology can be great and can keep you going. But be sure to try a run without all of it at least once a month.

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Coming up in the list of brand I like/love/admire: Fieldnotes. Getting a subscription for this soon. Very soon.

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Meetings are a chance to not sit.

But I also feel more engaged when I stand, even if I’m not talking. And when I am talking, I feel like I have a greater command of people’s attention. Come to think of it, I don’t remember Darth Vader sitting in many meetings aboard the Death Star.

Practically Efficient, referring to this WSJ article

Strongly agree with this. Discussing things with other people whilst standing makes me feel more engaged and more driven.

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Via mnmal

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(Via Kottke and Colossal)

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