As I See It ...

Jimmy Buffet - Jacksonville

2012-02-01T20:24:00.001-05:00

I took my iPhone to the Jimmy Buffet Concert in Jacksonville, FL. We had seats in the far end of the arena and that distance put a heavy burden on the phone's little lens. When I attached an 8-power telephoto lens to the phone the image improved, particularly with the help of the large screen TVs above the stage.

( I tried to upload the HD version, which really looks good, but it was too large for blogger and wouldn't load.)

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

MAIN PAGE

Siri ...

2011-11-06T15:59:00.001-05:00

It appears that Siri, Apple's digital assistant is having a few early problems. It is important to remember that Siri is still a Beta test; even so, it has been rolled-out to millions of people so a certain amount of reliability is expected.

I noticed last Thursday, while driving, that Siri could not make a phone call; which is a relatively simple task compared to all of the other goodies in her bag of tricks. Later that day Jill could not get Siri to create reminders or surf the web. It got to the point where we decided to write-off Siri and we used our new iPhones in the same manner we had always used cellphones ... manually.

On Friday, I read that Siri's issues were system wide. I treated that as a relief. At least it was not a problem with our phones or the local Sprint Network. Apparently Apple's servers were overloaded by the extreme high demand created by Siri's very popular feature.

In order for Siri to work, the iPhone must be connected to the network, either via cell tower or wifi. Then the network must communicate with a large database that houses all of Siri's considerable knowledge. The breakdown seems to be with the servers that host the database.

Apple has not yet mentioned a fix, other than a statement that they would increase server capacity. This morning I asked Siri to "search the web for problems with Siri". She did, and returned a Google list of articles written about her early missteps. The article said little more than what I just told you in the previous four paragraphs. So Siri can still churn out amazing work when server space allows her to; but I have to remember that AT THIS STAGE Siri is still a toy ... a toy that could very well develop into a very dynamic business tool.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Little Creature

2011-10-31T17:06:00.001-04:00

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

MAIN PAGE

September Full Moon

2011-09-12T23:29:00.001-04:00

September 11

2011-09-11T11:59:00.001-04:00

I took pictures of Manhattan while descending over New York City on an approach to Boston's Logan Airport. That was early May, 2001. I had no idea that that would be the last time I would see the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The camera was a Fuji Finepix 4700Z pocket digital.

The Last Launch

2011-07-08T22:27:00.002-04:00

Clouds were the main feature of the sky when the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch from the Kennedy Space Center for the last time. Today's launch marked the final flight in America's 30 year-old space shuttle program. Atlantis will visit the International Space Station for ten days before returning to Florida to become a museum display at Cape Canaveral.

360 Panoramic - Matanzas River

2011-06-21T10:47:00.001-04:00

If you don't have Flash try this link: http://pnr.ma/axiYRf

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Jigsaw Puzzle ...

2011-05-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

Jill completed the 500 piece puzzle of a Chinese pagoda in about 3 hours.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Not the best way to spend Saturday

2011-05-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

-- Sent via Palm Pre

Our website: http://shibumi.us

End of the World? There's an app for that ...

2011-05-20T18:04:00.000-04:00

An iPod/iPhone application to watch tomorrow’s so-called end of the world. It shows the alignment of planets in our solar system. It also shows satellites and constellations. It should interesting to view the planets tomorrow when they are all supposed to be perfectly aligned.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

My iPod's camera looks at my windows ...

2011-05-19T21:46:00.002-04:00

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

The Final Launch of Shuttle Endeavor

2011-05-16T11:19:00.001-04:00

Video was taken, edited, and uploaded with an iPod Touch.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

MAIN PAGE

All planets in a line ...

2011-05-10T17:38:00.000-04:00

An application on my iPod is called SkyView. When the app's compass is aligned with North, my iPod becomes a mini-planetarium. As I move the iPod around the sky it brings into view the location of stars, constellations, planets, a number of satellites, planets, the moon, and our sun.

In this screen shot of my iPod, taken about 3 p.m. this afternoon, we see the Sun at the top of the picture. Beneath the Sun is Mars. The large planet is Jupiter. It is hard to see in front of Jupiter, but Venus is partially hidden by Mercury. The blue planet in the lower left is Uranus. Out of view but on a similar line is Neptune and below that the deplanetized Pluto.

So if you have been counting I named seven planets all in a line. The Earth makes eight. Planet number nine is Saturn, which is lined up too but is way on the otherside of Earth and won't be visible in my hemisphere until Earth rotates and gives us a look at that part of the sky.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

South bound in the spring?

2011-05-09T08:21:00.000-04:00

In recent days I have seen several flocks of birds flying southbound.
Do they know something about the spring climate that I don't know?

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Gas prices ...

2011-05-05T13:46:00.000-04:00

It is almost time to move full-time onto a sailboat ...

-- Sent via Palm Pre

Our website: http://shibumi.us

Steve Brimm and Sailing Vessel Pungo

2011-05-01T17:22:00.003-04:00

Steve was looking for "experienced" crew for Pungo's next ocean voyage.

He visited us for a few days after returning from the Exumas.
He rafted Pungo to Shibumi and had a chance to spruce-up some before continuing his journey north.

MAIN PAGE

Fascinated by the sky ...

2011-04-25T09:58:00.000-04:00

... I have always loved looking into the sky. I liked it so much I made a career out of looking into the sky.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Spring Cleaning ...

2011-04-19T18:51:00.000-04:00

It is nearly time for me to go on another juice fast.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Speak your truth quietly and clearly ...

2011-04-19T07:53:00.001-04:00

In the late 1970's I visited my sister, Lorraine, when she lived in San Francisco. I discovered three things during that visit: Sailboats - I Ching (the Chinese Book of Change) and - Desiderata. All three have had a profound influence on my life. Here is Disederata ....

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Fourteen Days and Three Hours Old ...

2011-04-17T13:48:00.000-04:00

At the time of this posting the Moon was 14 days and 3 hours 8 mins old. That makes it a Full Moon, which makes high tide is our canal a little bit higher than "normal". A little trivia: The Moon is shaped like an egg. The pointed end is always pointed away from the Earth.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Jill in Savannah...

2011-04-16T15:16:00.000-04:00

Jill is visiting her son, Cory, in Savannah. He has a neat little ultra-light airplane.

-- Sent via Palm Pre

Our website: http://shibumi.us

One Minute From My iPod

2011-04-15T13:24:00.000-04:00

We must have a mid to high tide to turn a boat around in our canal. We took advantage of this morning's tide to get Shibumi pointed toward the ocean again.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Living Space ...

2011-04-11T12:38:00.000-04:00

Wow... How much space do we really need to live? We were very comfortable living aboard Shibumi for more than five months. We could fit the living space of four, maybe five, Shibumi's into our land home; and we have one of the smallest houses in the area.

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

A Minute From My iPod

2011-04-09T18:06:00.000-04:00

Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE

Larry and Sharon in Vero Beach

2011-04-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

Last week Larry and Sharon visited us while we in Vero Beach Habor. As always, we had a terrific time as we explored together the favors, the sense of style, and the laid-back atmosphere of Vero Beach.
Visit my Photo Gallery: Click Here

Or stop by my Vlog:VIDEOS

MAIN PAGE