Whilst Cowboys stars Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen were offered the opportunity to sit out tomorrow nights dead-rubber clash with the Bulldogs they refused, wanting to take part in Paul Bowman's 200th game with the Cowboys. "Bear" has been with the Cowboys since their inception in 1995 and he is sure to get a mighty roar when he steps onto the paddock tomorrow night.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned my mate’s coffee roasting business before, but it’s really starting to pick up steam (so to speak). A bit of a plug here: Roast and Post (http://www.roastandpost.com.au/) is an Australian company selling single origin and blended coffees. I’ve tasted them and they’re delicious, but what sets them apart is the fact they roast their coffee within 24 hours of shipping, so you know the coffee you’re getting is the freshest possible. I’m sure you’re like me and you’ve tasted some bad coffees, often the reason is how long it’s been sitting on the shelf. Give it a burl, he’s got a money back guarantee, and tell him Cameron sent you (he may give you a bonus).
Anyway, my mate told me he’s going to be upgrading the site, and putting in a whole new shopping cart. He’s like a lot of start up companies, without a lot of money for marketing, but he think’s he’s on a winner with this new shopping cart software called StoreSuite. It’s being developed by Interspire, who also put out SendStudio, which is an e-mailing software that helps you keep your customer database in order. One of the nice things he pointed out is they’re building in Australian conditions right from the start so with shipping
you’re already covered.
Anyway, I’ll keep you posted about how it works out.
A stellar performance by Matt Bowen, Jason Smith, Ray Cashmere and friends saw the Cowboys make it three wins in a row and secure a home game in the NRL finals series. Their 24-14 win came at the hands of the hapless Dragons in a season they would rather forget.
Just when I am thinking about changing my camera system brand I see this. Maybe my new camera will just fall from the sky?
This has long been my single favourite motorsports video. It won numerous film awards arond the world on its release in 1990. It documents world rally champion Ari Vatanen's attack on Pikes Peak, Colorado in his then all-conqeuring Peugeot 405T16. Enjoy Climb Dance.
Oh what I would give to sit alongside Alain Castellana for this ride in his custom Norma M20, powered by a 400bhp BMW M3 engine. That is, if they added a second seat! This drive up the Saint Baume mountain near Gemenos, France is one of the finest and fastest pieces of driving I have ever seen. Enjoy!
I just love this idea - carparks and garages could be slightly narrower, no more opening your door into a flying cyclist and no more kids flinging the door opening into another car (grrr). Bring it on Toyotahondamazdanissan!
You probably won't believe it, but this is an electric toothbrush with wi-fi! Admittedly it is only a wireless connection to a panel that tells you how hard you are brushing and where in your mouth you haven't brushed but really.... What next!
For those who know me you will probably think "Bet Cameron already has one"... Well I don't but to keep up my gadget-i-ness maybe I should? Darn it, not available in the US for another few weeks, so probably another 3 years until they hit Oz.
Despite narrowly beating the Cowboys 24-16 at Dairy Farmers, Brisbane left Townsville with long faces. Kangaroos, Maroons and Broncos captain Darren Lockyer suffered a season-ending ACL injury that will require surgery and put him out of action until 2008.
Sports betting agencies instantly lengthened the odds of Brisbane taking out the NRL title which speaks volumes for the skill and leadership shown by the Broncos stalwart.
If we could have only met a Lockyer-less Broncos this round. Which makes me wonder... Is a Lockyer-less Broncos as vulnerable as a Johns-less Knights or a Thurston-less Cowboys?
Love to know your thoughts!
See my Cowboys v Broncos pics at http://www.cameronlaird.com/gallery/2572467/6/172662793#172663077
I'm a big fan of the Blendtec blender, they are a must if you plan on blending golf clubs, matchbox cars, pickled pigs feet or magnets into a scrumptious dinner treat. Interested? Click the links or head on over to http://www.willitblend.com/ for a nice boredom breaker. But they have crossed the line now - blending the latest and greatest gadget is very uncool!
My eagle eyed brother spotted this in the current Coles catalogue. Wonder if it was done as a parting prank by the board of Coles as the transition to new owners Wesfarmers takes place? Anyway, whatever the case - enjoy your donuts....... not!
I'm not sure how I stumbled across this band but they are truly amazing. The seven artists who make up Naturally7 are all out of the States but due to a European recording contract now base themselves in Europe, rarely making it back home.
What will amaze you when you watch and listen to this video and any of the other Naturally7 songs is that there is absolutely no use of any instruments apart from their own voices. That's right - none... nada... zip...
Yesterday I went for a drive out to the Burdekin Falls Dam to photograph its current level over the spillway for The Courier-Mail newspaper. Although it was only flowing about one metre over the spillway it was still pretty amazing. The Burdekin Dam is Australia's second largest dam behind the Warragamba Dam and holds 1.86 million megalitres. It is currently holding 108% of capacity and is well worth a visit when flowing!
My daughter plays the violin and found this on YouTube for me. As long as it inspires her then it is cool by me. It is pretty damn amazing!
In total contrast to her recent appearances on the set of "Australia", the Baz Luhrmann film currently in production in Australia, Nicole Kidman has been chosen as the 'face' of Nintendo's latest advertising campaign for its "More Brain Training". Kidman will be seen in worldwide TV spots starting this week.
The Jet Man, Yves Rossy, a former Swiss military pilot, designed and built a deployable 3-meter wing, holding kerosene fuel for 2 jet engines fixed to the tips and attached it to his back. Rossy launched from an aeroplane and flew for 4 minutes, ascending and traveling at speeds over 100 knots, landing by parachute. This would have to go close to being the ultimate adrenaline rush! For more info have a look at http://www.jet-man.com/actuel_eng.html
Nikon are due to announce a replacement to the D2X and its subsequent update, the D2Xs anytime in the next few days. I won't be adding any of the rumours I have been hearing but I can tell you some of the things I personally hope it will have.
1. Greatly improved low light / high iso image quality.
2. Elimination of any back-focus problems.
3. SD & CF card options (like Canon).
4. Rubber body covers that don't fall off.
That is pretty much all I need improved. I know it will have higher resolution, faster fps, better metering and faster AF so if all of my wishes were included as well I would be a happy snapper!
There is one thing however that I hope/dream someone will build/design in the near future.
I wish someone would come up with a simple remote transmit unit that would eliminate the need for a laptop or pda and would allow you to SIMPLY transmit INSTANTLY from the sideline without an assistant or tech. No need to stop shooting, download cards, select images, caption, edit and transmit. This would ALL be done in camera with a simple setup before an assignment.
It could either screw underneath the body or sit on the hotshoe (like a pocketwizard) and connect to the camera via the 10 pin plug. Better still, how about Nikon and Canon build bluetooth into their next models! Then the bluetooth enabled transmit unit could go in a pocket or waistpack and not get in the way at all.It would be designed to work with participating high-speed cellular data networks, like Australia's NextG network and would require the relevent sim card inserted. Imagine something about the size of a cigarette pack with an lcd display.
I might be able to easily explain its use by describing how it would operate.
Before commencing assignment the unit can be plugged in to a laptop (even better, use a portable bluetooth keyboard and enter info straight into the unit via the lcd display) and data added to an "iptc stationary pad". IPTC details like job name, photographer info, relevent generic caption details, copyright info etc. that are automatically added to images sent via the unit. The unit could also hold numerous ftp connection details which could be edited and saved. How about built in smtp mail software if your client doesn't support ftp? Include the smtp server details, email address, message and max message size and your images will send via email.
What about specific captions with particular players names I hear you ask? Well, if you record a voice caption in the camera (which all pro models now offer) it will be uploaded alongside the picture file so the client can adjust the caption at their end.
What about filesize? Well, you could set options like quality of jpg compression, resize to specific pixels on the longest side, max file size.
Finally, how would it know what pics to send? Well, this would have to be done in a similar fashion to the old Canon D2000/Kodak DCS520 where you 'tag' a file in camera. Once the file is tagged it is automatically sent and a confirmation would appear on the transmit unit lcd when the file had been uploaded.
Ok you tech companies, feel free to steal my idea and get to work on this. I am SURE that tens of thousands of these units would sell all around the world to companies like AP, Reuters, Getty, AFP and all newspaper publishers.
By the way, I want a freebee!
If you counted the coffee coupon card signatures I have had filled in at Jochheim's Bakery in Bowen over the past 6 weeks you would probably think I need to visit Caffeine Anonymous. Erin, Megan, Maureen and the staff have worked tirelessly over the length of the movie serving up cup after cup of choice espresso drinks to Bowen locals, movie cast & crew (including numerous to Nic & Keith!) and tired but appreciative photographers.
This is for you girls!
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